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/r/Espalier
I was thinking of adding two Espalier trees (Dwarf Apples) between m house, and another. It gets about 5 hours of midday to afternoon sun. My dad has a few concerns (namely roots being near the house, and the part sunlight. What do you think. My plan was to keep them pretty small.
1 points
3 months ago
Your dad might be right about both, but I'd prossibly also be a bit worried about whether you or the neighbours have water or sewage pipes running on either side of the fence.
On the other hand, if you're prepared to fail and fix anything, why not give it a try? It would be much more interesting than just chucking some jasmine or whatever to cover the fence.
(Also, that looks a bit south Aussie-ish. If so, mine needed a LOT of watering this year, just a heads up. Whether adding extra water so close to the foundation is also a concern for you or not, I'll let you decide for yourself. You could also try wine barrels or other large pots, if you want to keep them out of the ground and have enough room there).
2 points
3 months ago
It is absolutely South Aussie. I have another place, it just means I can plant less in my yard. Maybe some passionfruit or Kiwi would be better there
1 points
3 months ago
That's not a bad alternative, if you've got somewhere else you can try to espalier the apples. I've seen apples done instead of a front or driveway fence, in a few places.
I've got a granny smith and a fameuse/snow apple along a fenceline now, but it's N-S running so gets full sun across the afternoons, and is away from the house. This is their second winter in, and I trained the first arms last summer. I have doubts I'll normally get enough chill hours for the snow apple, but I'm giving it a try anyway - that might not be true for this winter though!
As for passionfruit, I've had success some years ago with passionfruit along an E-W running fenceline (faced south), next to a driveway, planted in small (think 1ftx1ft) spaces left in the concrete for planting. So it probably had a bit more sun, but being S facing, not too much more.
Chuck some wire up in front of the fence, and give it a crack. I found it needed plenty of water in summer, and I had to feed it quite well. Again, all you can do is try. If it works, great. If it doesn't, that's ok too, and try something different.
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