Hi all. I’m trying to find out if it’s possible to successfully espalier a dwarf Red Haven peach tree in the Comox Valley. I bought a tree from a local nursery and planted it (3 wks ago) as instructed, but most of the advice I’ve found online says it must be espaliered in a fan shape with the centre leader going off at 45 degrees and with angled cordons - rather than a standard perpendicular centre with parallel arms. I asked at another garden centre and was told peach tree espalier will not work here due to a shorter growing season. I’m confused. I’ll attach a photo of my tree as well as a photo of a peach fan espalier. Hopefully, someone will have some knowledge to share with me.
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Everything I’ve read also confirms that a peach tree should be ‘fanned’ rather than espaliered. The reason being that peaches flower on new wood, and if you espalier a tree, you are cutting off all the new wood when you prune to keep it in an espaliered form i.e the main horizontal branches are old wood and so are the short stubs that grow off of the main horizontals. (Note: apple and pear trees work well in the espaliered form because they flower/fruit on older wood.)
If you use the fan structure for a peach tree, you allow new wood to grow to a longer length and allow flowering (and hopefully fruiting) along this length. One the fruiting is completed, that branch is removed and another new branch is allowed to form/grow that will flower/fruit.
I’m no expert, I’m afraid (and I don’t have first hand experience either). The question has been forwarded to the Master Gardeners so hopefully, they will provide a concrete response. Good luck!
Thanks, Lorna. Yes, thankfully, I’ve read enough re: peach trees that I know that fruit grows on one year old wood. Your explanation makes good sense based on that knowledge. I just don’t know how to go about it, so I’m eager to hear from the Master Gardeners. I’m also not sure if the info from the garden centre re: poor results on espalier/fan for the Comox Valley is correct. I’m running out of time to cut the tree back if this is going to be possible. Thanks again for your response.
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Many thanks to the Milner Gardens & Woodland’s Gardening Advice line, a partnership between Vancouver Island University’s Milner Gardens & Woodland and the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association for the following response
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Thank you for submitting this question to the Garden Advice Line from the CVHS forum.
The weather here on the coast is usually rainy, so training a peach against a wall of your home in full sun is beneficial because it adds heat that aids in ripening, while also sheltering the tree from too much rain, which can cause fungal diseases like peach leaf curl.
Stone fruits like peaches are typically recommended for a fan-shaped form of training, as opposed to more restricted espalier form typical for apples and pears. The Royal Horticultural Society says this is because “such a rigid, closely pruned form does not exploit their fruiting habit well.” Peaches fruit on last year’s shoots, while apples and pears fruit on older spurs. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the traditional espalier won’t work or that it can’t survive, it just means that you will likely get less fruit, which could be disappointing after all that hard work pruning.
In our research, we were unable to find any verified sources of information that discouraged training peach trees against walls in our climate, or specifically Redhavens. Perhaps the person you spoke to at the nursery was referring to the longer ripening time for Redhaven variety compared to some other varieties. Regardless, training it against a wall would actually speed up ripening by a couple of weeks.
If you are eager to get started with your peach tree training, The Royal Horticultural Society has an article found here about the process of the formative fan training, or for more detailed instructions, check out this wonderful book from the Vancouver Island Regional Library:
RHS Pruning and Training (Revised New Edition) by Christopher Brickell and David Joyce, DK Books, 2017.
Pages 132-135 have detailed diagrams and descriptions about the formative training of peaches, as well as how to prune the established fan.
One final note, we noticed in the photos that the root flare of this peach tree is not visible. Frequently, trees that come home from the nursery have been repotted much too deep. The root flare (see attached image for reference) is the part of the tree’s trunk where it begins to flare outward and become the roots. This should be just visible at the soil surface. A tree planted too deeply will slowly suffocate over time. The best thing to do in that case is to clear away excess soil and mulch to expose the flare (if it is just a little), or to replant the tree entirely (if it’s a lot).
We hope this answer was helpful to you on your peach training journey.
Happy gardening,
Vancouver Island Master Gardeners
Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association
Phone: 250-752-0312
Email: GardeningAdvice.MilnerGardens@shaw.ca
Web: www2.viu.ca/milnergardens/gardening-advice.asp
Milner Gardens & Woodland’s Gardening Advice is offered through a partnership between Vancouver Island University’s Milner Gardens & Woodland and the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association.
Advice is given without charge and although it is believed to be correct, it is given on the basis that there is no liability on the part of the Master Gardener, VIU, or the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association.
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Wow! What a wealth of information! Thank you so much! The imbedded information will be very helpful.
Is it too late to snip off the top of the tree to begin the fan shape; the leaves are just kind of becoming visible right now? There is no “dog-leg on this tree, and no buds that I can see on either side 18 to 20” above the soil level (which I will fix. I will move away the soil as you recommend; thank you for that information as well!) I’m just not sure where to cut the tree off, and I don’t want to kill it. Or should I leave it for a year as was also recommended to me?
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Everything I’ve read recently (and also reiterated by local Master Gardener Deb Gurrad) is to not prune stone fruit (including peaches) until mid summer. Apparently the risk of fungal infection is very high here in our moist climate and mid summer should be the driest time of year, Maybe that will give you time to contemplate your first cut?! 
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I hadn’t read that about pruning in spring causing a fungal infection; thank you so much, Lorna! I’m so glad I reached out to this forum; you have been very kind and helpful. It’s a bit scary to contemplate cutting the tree at all, as I’m new to fruit trees and certainly not a master gardener, but hey - I’m here for trying new things! Thanks again!
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