On the quiet banks of the Tennessee River grows a living tapestry of sculpted trees. Branches are bent to create these fanciful forms called espalier. You can find America's largest collection of this unique art form at the River Road Farms, halfway between Chattanooga and Knoxville. The owner, Peter Thevenot, was introduced to espalier trees while taking a trip to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. Spellbound by the design of the trees, Thevenot became determined to start training trees.
His passion turned into a profession, which now includes a 360-acre nursery, full of twisted trees. About 1,650 plants are in training all the time. He works with them anywhere between three and five years.
The size and shape of an espaliered tree depends on the use. The elaborate candelabra, or fanned espalier, is a perfect focal point in any garden. A line of trees trained into a tunnel creates a pathway to a hidden garden or a crowning centerpiece. The intertwined branches of a Belgian fence or the arms of the cordon become living fences, willowy walls or surreal screens. One of the fences is trained out of the very common Bradford pear tree.
The first step to growing an espalier tree is to choose a location with good soil and good drainage. The next step is to outline the form of the plant at its maturity.
A horizontal cordone is a good example. It's an easier tree to do because it doesn't have a lot of bends and turns. After drawing the outline with chalk, holes are drilled at even intervals along each tier. Then you want to insert an 8-inch-long screw about two inches deep into each hole, leaving six inches of the screw exposed.
Each of the tiers is 16 inches apart to allow room for fruit and foilage along the branches. If you don't leave enough space, the tree will become a solid mass of leaves, fruit and branches.
Next, thread 14-gauge wire tightly between each of the screws, making sure to wrap the wire several times around each screw head to keep the wire taut. There should be three to four inches of space between the wire and wall to promote circulation and to prevent disease and insects.
Once your wire template is finished, it's time for the tree. Thevenot suggests starting with a high-grade, relatively straight 3/4-inch whip. Remove any of the growth that isn't going to play a role in the plan.
Then affix your new espalier tree to the wire with soft twine or nursery tape--anything that's not going to cut into the bark.
Throughout each season gently rub off all the buds except those that comply with your espalier design. When the designated buds grow into branches, tie them to your guide wire.
And this is the hard part: Like it or not, cut off the top of your tree once it reaches the next tier to stimulate branch growth.
After five years, you'll pretty much have the sculpture finished. Then just let it grow.
Thevenot prefers Kieffer pear trees because of their vigorous growth and high resistance to disease, but he says many commonly used plants or hardwoods will respond to branch manipulation. He says you're only limited by your imagination.
Of course, pruning is the key to keeping your tree in fine form. Basically, all you do to keep the plant's shape is to cut off the branches that are inconsistent with the shape you want.
And don't be fooled into thinking these are fragile forms of abstract art. Some espalier trees will live 100-125 years.
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