Training plants to a flat surface by pruning off branches extending out Plants so trained are often more productive than those permitted to branch normally
Tree or other plant trained to grow flat against a support (such as a trellis or wall). The term is also used for the support itself, as well as for the method or technique. The technique was developed in Europe to encourage fruit-tree production in an incompatible climate; it originally used a wall to provide heat as well as support. Decorative or space-saving espaliers use metal, wire, or wooden frames to create ornamental shapes for shrubbery or to train trees on trellises, walls, or fences. Evergreens such as loquat, fire thorn, sweet bay magnolia, and upright yew, as well as dwarf apple and pear trees, make excellent espaliers
Both fruiting and ornamental trees and shrubs can be trained as an espalier, but the process must be begun when the plant is still young Plants are trained to grow on a single plane, rather than branching on all sides of the main stem or trunk It is often seen along walls and fences
A horticultural technique using pruning and shaping to train the branches of a tree or shrub into a two-dimensional ornamental design, as along a wall or fence