Homestyle
Espalier makes use of trellis for gardening in small spaces

By Heidi Bornhorst

Do you have a small garden? Do you like all kinds of plants that bear fruit or flowers? Would you like to grow more of these wonderful and productive plants than you possibly have room for? Well, there is an old gardening technique that is useful in this situation: espalier. This gardening technique trains plants to grow flat on a lattice or trellis.

I was reminded of this technique when I spoke recently with Jackie Lee Ralya, an experienced gardener. Both Jackie, and her mother, Kay Lee, practice espalier and have an abundance of citrus, pakalana and Stephanotis.

Although Lee's apartment in Mo'ili'ili is tiny, she can produce a three-strand pakalana lei or a leimale (Stephanotis) with flowers that she grows in her home.

How does she do it?

With artful espalier. She has a low makeshift old faucet pipe, wooden post and portions of old chain-link fence material. She trains her vines so they spread out perfectly for maximum sun exposure (flowering plants need a lot of full sunlight to produce flowers.) She has the vines trained to grow at an easy and convenient height — making it easy and convenient to pick the flowers she strings into leis.

Amazingly, she also produces bitter melon and, believe it or not, wintermelon the same way she does her flowers.

Jackie has a fairly big garden out in sunny Makakilo. But she uses espalier because of the number of plants she likes to grow. Her enthusiasm for all kinds of flowering, edible and interesting plants is boundless. If not for the technique of espalier, she would soon run out of room.

She grows and trains her citrus so they have long level branches, supported by a sturdy trellis. They get lots of sun, are supported in the wind and are very productive because of it. Espalier is an old technique developed by European gardeners eager to grow subtropical fruits such as citrus in their often dark and cooler climates. They would select a very sunny south-facing wall that got afternoon sunlight. They would then construct a sturdy yet decorative trellis and train the branches to grow on it.

This technique holds endless potential for Hawai'i gardeners. It is as easy as constructing a sturdy trellis. Scrounge around for old wire and pipes and create a trellis of your taste.

Once the trellis is completed, gently pull and secure the branches on your trellis — carefully tying them on. Use the green tie tape sold in garden shops or my personal favorite: old nylon pantyhose — better for tying up plants and securing orchids on trees than for wearing and strangling your legs with.