Espaliering: The glory of trained roses

Espaliering is an ancient pruning method, still used for fruit trees, that can be applied to climbing roses, large shrub roses and Spire roses (very tall hybrid tea roses) with spectacular effect.

An espaliered rose can be a focal point on a trellis, cover a wall or palisade fence, act as a screen, and transform a boundary or swimming pool fence. The basic principle of espalier is the horizontal tying of canes to a support, which encourages the rose to sprout and flower from every node along the branch.

It also keeps climbers neat and under control, easy to manage for spraying, and exposes all the growth to sunshine and air.

Keep it simple

The horizontal espalier pattern is a simple solution for dressing up low walls and fences and simply entails horizontally training the canes along the wall or fence and tying them in place.

Suitable varieties are those that grow into willowy shrubs about 2m high and wide, with long arching canes such as Blossom Time, Cocktail, Blossom Magic, and Cherry Garland.

An espaliered rose feature in a vegetable garden. Picture: Supplied

Special effect

The fan pattern takes more time to do but the final result is a neat looking climber that will hold its shape on a trellis, palisade fence or wall support throughout summer.

When tying a rose onto a wall support or trellis, make sure there is space between the wall and the trellis so the stems can be tied up and there is also a free flow of air. Avoid espaliering roses against a west-facing wall as the afternoon sun is too hot.

Before cutting away any stems, assess the rose and decide which stems are suitable for tying onto the support. Once you have an idea, loosely tie the canes to the support. They need to be tied as horizontally as possible to encourage new shoots along the length of the cane.

The ties should not be too tight because the branches will thicken during the season. Looser ties are also easier to remove when pruning the following year.

Once the main stems are tied in place, the side shoots on each stem can be reduced to about 5cm-10cm. By leaving a stub with two to three eyes, new growth will develop quickly, and the best flowers will come from these.

Clean out twiggy growth and where a stem has forked, cut away one of the tines. In many cases you can see where the sap has bypassed one shoot and favoured the other. Cut out the weaker shoot.

Once the main framework of canes is in place it will be easy to identify which canes or side shoots are not necessary and can be cut out at the base. Branches that are two to three years old can be retained if they are important to the framework. Remove the leaves where possible.

The roses recommended for this are climbers like Isidingo, High Hopes and Golden Spire, as well as several David Austin English roses like Heritage, James Galway and Lady of Shalott.

The espaliered rose Golden Celebration on the wall behind a rose bed. Picture; Supplied

General pruning tips

Roses that benefit most from pruning are hybrid tea, floribunda and bush types of English and Nostalgia roses.

The best time to prune is from 20 July to the first week of August. You will need a pair of well-sharpened secateurs, a long-handled lopper and stout garden gloves.

After pruning, dig in fresh compost around to a depth of 30cm. Add the controlled release fertiliser, Vigo-longer or sprinkle Vigorosa (one cup per rose) over the surface and water well.

• For the first time ever there will not be pruning demonstrations in July but for online demonstrations visit www.ludwigsroses.co.za

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