Pleached trees, also called espaliered trees, are used to create arbors, tunnels, and arches as well as the “hedge on stilts” look. This technique works well with chestnut, beech, and hornbeam trees. It also works with certain fruit trees including lime, apple, and pear.

Can any tree be pleached?

Suitable for… Tilia (lime) is the most commonly used tree for pleached walks; usually the red-twigged lime (Tilia platyphyllos ‘Rubra’). Ash, beech, chestnut, hornbeam and plane can also be pleached, as can apples and pears. These can often be obtained ready trained.

Are pleached trees worth it?

The beauty of pleached trees is that they create stunning visual effects without taking up a lot of space on the ground. Ideal then for a small garden or for a formal garden where they can be used to create structure and to direct the eye. Pleached trees have been used by garden designers for at least four centuries.

What are the best evergreen trees for pleaching?

Traditionally, the evergreen Cherry Laurel and Magnolia Grandiflora have been popular choices for pleaching. Most of the pleached trees usually produce fruit or flowers. The space between the branches gives them enough room to bloom and flourish.

Are pleached trees high maintenance?

It’s quite a low-maintenance process as it only needs to be done once or twice a year – late winter can be a good time to do this, as you can assess any winter damage and trim the tree before the leaves grow back in spring.

Can you Pleach plum trees?

Pleached Prunus Domestica Victoria is an excellent fruiting plum tree that provides a self-fertilised harvest each year. The green plums are good for jams and the purple plums can be eaten straight from the tree. Fruit trees in pleached form make smart natural screens that don’t overpower a smaller space.

Can you Pleach magnolia trees?

Magnolia grandiflora is a majestic tree, growing to at least 20 metres and unless you want to go into battle with it to try and control its size, it is best suited to very large gardens and parks. … I use trees as feature trees, pot specimens, screening, pleaching, grove plantings, avenue plantings, and espaliering.

What is the difference between pleached and Espalier?

Pleached trees are created by training trees to a square frame, tying in and interlacing flexible young shoots along a supporting framework; creating a slim canopy. Espalier trees is the term used for pleached fruit trees, designed so that sun can shine on the fruit.

What is the best evergreen tree for privacy UK?

Photinia red robin, Privet, Holly, Evergreen Oak and Laurel all make superb Evergreen screening trees. A more formal alternative is Pleached trees. They take up little room, where space is at a premium and form a good barrier in summer and winter.

Can conifers be pleached?

Pleached Leyland Cypress combines all the great qualities of this fast-growing conifer with with the added benefit of highly architectural, formal shape. … This is achieved by training the conifers on bamboo frames: once the crown is formed, it requires only minimal upkeep to keep its stunning shape.

Article first time published on

Do pleached trees lose their leaves?

Ever popular Pleached Hornbeam trees Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus), a British native, is one of the most popular deciduous trees for pleaching, thanks not least to the vibrant green of the new foliage and the fact that it does not shed its old leaves until spring.

How long does it take pleached trees to grow?

This two years of growing seasons (after the initial pleach), means the pleached stems will then fill out the frame more thickly. These are typically 12-14cm girth trees.

Can mature trees be pleached?

Mature pleached trees are stunning, full-grown trees that have been carefully nurtured and trained into dense screens. … One of the key advantages of planting mature pleached trees is you get to experience their stunning appearance immediately.

Do pleached trees need staking?

Do Pleached Trees need staking? Remember when planting Pleached trees make sure that adequate staking or framework is factored in and also recommended that each frame is tied together to maintain a good line and one that is not likely to move in winter storms. Stakes can normally be removed in around 3-5 years.

Can you put pleached trees in containers?

Anything is possible but this is solely dependent on the amount of soil volume the tree can access. The greater the soil volume, the longer the tree can be successfully grown within its confines.

Are pleached lime trees Evergreen?

Tilia Europaea Pallida Pleached or Pleached Lime Trees. Tilia Europaea Pallida, the common lime tree, is a quick-growing deciduous tree which is suitable for large-scale landscaping and for pleaching.

Are magnolia trees good for screening?

These Magnolia Grandiflora pleached trees are really useful as a screen to create a modern contemporary appearance in the garden. Pleached Trees are often used for above-fence or wall screening or to create a contemporary green wall or border for separating garden ‘rooms. ‘

What are hornbeam trees?

Hornbeam trees make wonderful stately ornamental trees in rural and urban settings, with the deciduous autumn-coloured leaves often holding on as a feature through winter. The dense foliage provides a refuge for wildlife and makes Hornbeam trees suited to screening, hedging and avenue planting.

Can you Pleach Lilly Pilly?

Pleached varieties currently available at Warners: Syzygium australe (lillypilly)

Can you Pleach cherry trees?

Any type of tree can be pleached. Pleached fruit trees have clear trunks with a square crown that bears fruit.

How far apart do you plant pleached hornbeam?

For optimum density, we usually recommend a planting spacing of 180cm (6ft) from stem to stem. Pleached trees are and excellent way of creating privacy over the top of a 180cm tall tall or fence.

How do you train a pleached hornbeam?

Weave together the branches of one tree in with the branches of its neighbour as each tree is trained onto the flat plane support system. Hornbeam trees are best trained in spring or summer when the branches are flexible. Young, supple branches are easiest to train (and least likely to break).

How do you plant hornbeam trees?

Planting hornbeam To make a hedge, space trunks apart by 3 feet (1 meter). Hornbeam will tolerate part sun perfectly. It prefers cool locations to warm ones, and doesn’t like places with a high exposure to sunlight. Soil quality isn’t really relevant, as long as it stays relatively cool.

What is a pleached lime tree?

Another fantastic variety of pleached tree; pleached Limes (Tilia × europaea ‘Pallida’) boast heart shaped, green leaves that turn buttery yellow in autumn. … Pleached trees consist of a tall clear stem, upon which a mature screen is grown by spacing out the branches into parellel lines.

What is pollarding a tree?

Pollarding is a method of pruning that keeps trees and shrubs smaller than they would naturally grow. It is normally started once a tree or shrub reaches a certain height, and annual pollarding will restrict the plant to that height. Save to My scrapbook. Back.

Can Laurel be pleached?

The evergreen Portuguese Laurel is an ideal candidate for pleaching. It offers height and provides superb screening. The straight branches are easily woven to generate the coveted pleached effect that creates an optimum and extremely elegant garden screen.

What is the best conifer for screening?

Western Red Cedar is an impressive evergreen conifer, with densely branched, making it a great tree for screening. Its glossy dark-green scales very aromatic. Thuja is usually frost-hardy and tolerant of urban pollution.

What trees block out Neighbours?

• Leyland Cypress (Cupressus leylandii) …
• Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) …
• Thuja Green Giant (Arborvitae) – A Fast Growing Privacy Tree. …
• Emerald Green Thuja (Arborvitae) …
• Sky Pencil Holly (Ilex crenata) …
• Willow Hybrid (Salix) …
• White Pine (Pinus strobus)

What is a fast growing tree for privacy?

What are the fastest-growing trees for privacy? Hybrid poplar tops the list. It can grow upwards of five feet per year. The Leyland cypress, green giant arborvitae, and silver maple are all close seconds because they add about two feet to their height each year.

Can you espalier dwarf fruit trees?

It’s a system of growing dwarf fruit trees on espaliers where they are grown in an intensive way and can be easily covered by netting when needed. … This system firstly depends on growing small trees on wires, known as espaliering.

What can I plant instead of conifers?

Laurel Hedging Laurel is the quickest growing evergreen hedging plant that isn’t a conifer, so if you don’t want a conifer hedge, Laurel is the quickest and cheapest way of creating an evergreen hedge.