Can you espalier olive trees

String rows of wire against your wall at least 30cm apart. Plant tree in a central position and cut growth below the bottom wire. In the first year, trees should put out good growth. Tie tips down and cut away all growth except one central upright that grows to the next wire.

Repeat process in following years: tie tips down and cut upright growth. Top 10 fruit tree choices for training. Site navigation. Follow us:. Trained trees One of the issues with growing fruit in small spaces is the footprint the tree occupies at ground level. Simple espalier technique 1. Cut all growth except the top two strongest shoots, which are tied to the bottom wire. Biodegradable binding tube often is used to train trees into the desired pattern as well.

Your local nursery, garden center or hardware store likely carries various types of anchoring devices. Espalier olive training is an ongoing process that requires regular pruning and training to obtain and maintain a specific shape.

Branches that grow outward, away from the intended pattern, need pruning. Branches used to create the intended design require ties to keep them in place. Prune olive trees in spring or summer and before flowering. Espalier training offers several benefits for the grower. Trees trained to grow flat against a stone wall save space in the garden. Training a tree lower to the ground allows for better access, making care of it easier.

An espaliered olive tree is easier to prune and pick. This production zone P contains first-year sprouts, second-year olive producing branches, and still flexible third-year branches. Centrally of the tree there is the large shaded the central spherical volume S. This area is dominated by fourth year and older branches, which branches supply nutrients and structural support to the mature olive tree crown C. As is well-known in the olive industry, shaded central volume S does not produce olives.

This volume which supplies nutrients and structural support is over abundant and largely wasted in so far as olive production is concerned. The reader will understand that FIG. For a considerable period of time while an orchard grows, olive trees are of lesser size than the mature olive trees illustrated in FIG.

However, because the maturity of such trees must be anticipated, planting of the trees on the center to center spacing illustrated approximately 30 feet between trees must be made. Accordingly, as the olive orchard comes to maturity, considerable space is wasted within all of orchard.

I propose the trellis disposition illustrated in FIG. As this trellis disposition is described, the reader may compare shaded central spherical volume S of the mature orchard with the central support and nutrient zone [] 11 of the trellised orchard as illustrated in FIG.

Olive trees 10 during their growth have their central support and nutrient plants zone 11 confined to a narrow central volume here illustrated in the order of one foot of thickness.

The reader will appreciate that dependent upon the variety of olive tree; nutrient plant zone 11 can be varied in thickness.

While a relatively wider range of variation can be accommodated, in the normal case thickness would not exceed a 4 feet. A further comment can be made about the trellis disposition of the olive orchard illustrated in FIG. Specifically, as an olive orchard moves to maturity, the trellised orchard of FIG. As contrasted with the olive orchard in FIG. The mature olive orchard of FIG. Exterior of central support and nutrient plant zone [] 11 , a so-called production zone 12 is allowed to grow.

This production zone includes first-year sprouts, second-year production branches, and still flexible third-year supporting and nutrient supplying branches. It is been found that when olives trees mature, harvest with the automated apparatus of his invention can easily occur with this branch array. It will further be understood that production zone 12 will extend above support and nutrient plant zone Such an overhead production volume is illustrated in broken lines in FIG.

Support vehicle 29 having a universal arm 27 moves and orients harvesting apparatus 20 with respect to olive trees ready for harvest. This orientation of harvesting apparatus 20 is universal; the harvesting apparatus 20 can rotate from the horizontal disposition here illustrated to a vertical disposition. Further, angular inclination of the harvesting apparatus 20 can occur through many differing angularities. For example, when harvesting overlying production zone P such as that illustrated in broken lines in FIGS.

It will be understood that universal arm 27 can telescope towards and away from the particular olive tree being harvested. Harvesting apparatus [] 20 includes a powered rotating central shaft Referring to FIGS. Tines 22 are given a separation dependent upon the type and species of olive tree being harvested. Here the illustrated separation between tines 22 at powered rotating central shaft 21 is on the order of six inches.

Tines 22 are given a length is so that full penetration of production zone P occurs. Tines [] 22 are arcuate. Generally, tines 22 arc toward the direction of their rotation. It is been found that this arcuate disposition gathers the olive branches within the production zone P and enables an efficient harvest.

In this schematic, protruding resilient fingers 24 , typically made of rubber, are illustrated in their attachment to the respective sides of the tines In FIG.

It is been found, that if shaft attached protruding tines [] 22 are directly fastened to powered rotating central shaft 21 , fouling of olive branches can occur at the junction between the tines 22 and the central shaft To prevent such a fouling, anti-fouling cylinders 23 are placed interstitially of the attachment of the rows of shaft attached protruding tines As here illustrated, shaft attached protruding tines [] 22 are fastened to powered rotating central shaft 21 in discrete rows.

There are two such rows here illustrated. Anti-fouling cylinders 23 are two in number and fastened at the interval between the rows of protruding tines Further, anti-fouling cylinders 23 exceed by a factor of two the diameter of the powered rotating central shaft With this particular disposition, it is been found that minimal fouling of branches in the production zone P occurs during harvest.

Referring back to FIG. Tine surrounding basket 25 is here illustrated as half an ellipse in section. The elliptical section is truncated along its minor axis and oriented normally to the axis of powered rotating central shaft The elliptical section generates a cylindrical basket section overlying the rotating tines.

Further, tine surrounding basket 25 is closed at its respective ends.