Crabapple Palmette Verrier Espalier Beginnings - Spring 2022

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Earlier this week, I showed off a couple of photos that featured the pair of Sugar Tyme Crabapple trees that were in (what I then called) a pre-espalier form.  These were planted last Fall along the southside of our house, in front of our gate.   Since they had already bloomed, I thought it was time to take out the pruners and remove all the non-necessary limbs to allow the trees to focus growth on the limbs that I cared most about. 

I started with a top haircut - pruning off the apical meristem or leader on both.  That usually has a strong impact on the tree where it signals a bunch of NEW growth.  I used the siding boards to get them the same height.  From there, I went two siding boards down and removed all the little, starting limbs in between those two segments.  Then, again two boards down.  And so forth.  

I still am not sure what form these will take, but - for now - I'm training them horizontally.  See below for what are (now) four-level horizontal cordon espaliered crabapple trees. 

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to try to get these into a Palmette Verrier espalier form (see below).  That means I need the bottom limbs to be the LONGEST and I need the top be 'split' into horizontal form.  Interestingly...the drawing below shows just THREE levels.  


If I went with three levels, that would mean that I would NOT need this top level.  See below for an annotated version of the photo showing what a Palmette Varrier Espalier would look like.

A few notes:

1. I'm thinking that I should *keep* that top level, despite not needing it with this form. Just a hedge.
2. I've learned that the bottom tier - which needs to be the LONGEST in this form - takes the LONGEST to grow. On my horizontal cordon espalier with Greenspire Lindens, that lowest tier is the smallest, thinnest.
3. I initially thought that I could make that shape by *bending* the tree limbs. But, what I've learned is that it is better to prune the ends to create NEW growth/new branch that can provide that horizontal upright.
4. I'll leave these alone except to remove any main trunk growth that isn't in line with these four tiers this Summer.

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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