If you think you don't have room to grow fruit trees, think again. Espalier is nothing more than pruning plants to a flat plane. So all you need is a sunny space at least three feet wide and eight feet long.
Although apples are the standard for espaliering in other areas, figs are my favorite. Since it is difficult to find the fruit in stores and since figs grow well here, they are worth the effort. To top that, they look great in winter when the leaves fall and leave their thickened branches as living sculpture.
To begin, pick your favorite variety and purchase a small specimen, say a 5- to 15-gallon size. When selecting your tree, try to find one which has buds or branches on opposing sides. You will be cutting out the front and back branches and leaving the side growth as your framework. You will need to prune out all but three or four branches at different levels on each side and keep the back and front branches pruned out all the way to the trunk.
David Gay, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas Cooperative Extension
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