Digging up an espalier pear tree

[cambolina]

Hello!

I wonder if you might be able to offer some advice? there's an espaliered pear tree in my garden, but unfortunately it needs to be dug up because the neighbours fence post can't be properly bedded in around the roots.

It's unfortunate timing - the tree is close to flowering and I don't have another location for a trained tree. So I have two questions really; do you think it's likely to survive a move, and is there any way to prune out the espalier-ing if I could move it?

In an ideal world I'd love to put it in a massive pot for a year or two, but I imagine that's an unlikely option! We haven't lived here long and aren't ready to plan the garden yet.

It's not a huge tree - though it fruits very well. I think it might be 5/6 years old

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I'd like to see if I can rescue it or give it to a good home, but I understand it might just be a case of letting it go...

Ta!
Cam

[nickdub]

You can move it - usual rules apply ie dig the hole its going in first, water well 24 hrs before digging up the tree, get as big a root ball as practical, get it planted again v quickly , ram down any loose soil with a fence post or similar , water again every week for a couple of months unless we get monsoon weather - the tree will suffer a bit of a shock but should survive .

You'll end up with a slightly odd shaped tree, but as along as that doesn't bother you it hardly matters as it should fruit fine.

[cambolina]

Thanks for your advice - very mich appreciated

You can move it - usual rules apply ie dig the hole its going in first, water well 24 hrs before digging up the tree, get as big a root ball as practical, get it planted again v quickly , ram down any loose soil with a fence post or similar , water again every week for a couple of months unless we get monsoon weather - the tree will suffer a bit of a shock but should survive .

You'll end up with a slightly odd shaped tree, but as along as that doesn't bother you it hardly matters as it should fruit fine.

[nickdub]

Thanks for your advice - very mich appreciated

You're very welcome - good luck with the tree and Happy Gardening :-)

PS forgot to mention, try and keep the tree facing in roughly the same direction ie South side South - not vital but it all helps.

[cambolina]

I just wanted to update you after your kind advice!

The tree had a bit of a rough ride, it ended up out of the earth for a while, with it's roots in a compost bag, because I couldn't find a clear patch of un-root-bound earth and someone said they wanted it but kept cancelling.

In the end I got fed up and sad to just watch it dying, so I dug up a bush across the garden that looked like it was ailing (it was, it virtually fell out of the ground) I put the tree in the ground with it's bag of compost mixed with gravel. By then my husband was sure it was dead but I figured it was worth seeing what happens... after a couple of months of TLC it's in leaf again!

Perhaps we won't know for sure if it will last to next year, but it's so nice to see it green and leafy. I don't know that it can stay in this position, but at least if we do need to move it again we can do it in our own time rather than being rushed into a decision.

I don't think growing out the espalier shape it going to be too much bother as it wasn't very widely trained, so if it lives over the years I think it'll prune into a nice shape. Honestly I quite like strangely shaped trees!

Thanks for your time again - I might not have bothered without the encouragement!

[nickdub]

Glad it worked out reasonably well for you and your tree - I reckon it will survive fine now it has leafed up again.

Given as you say you can now move it at a time to suit yourself it should be safe to do that if necessary when dormant ie in the winter some time.

Happy gardening :-)