How close do I plant my tree?

[mrbadexample]

Hello all,

I've got a pear tree to plant, in this bit by the fence:



It's to be an espalier, so needs to go quite close to the fence, but how close? I don't want it to cause any problems damaging the fence as it grows, but needs to be close enough to train along it.

Suggestions please?

Thanks,
MBE

[VirginVegGrower]

I would plant it a foot away as you need some air space behind it really and pears get quite big. What rootstock is it on? FB is your authority on all things fruity. Have you pm'd him?
You will need to be able to firm in behind it. Does it have a rootball? Container grown or bare root? Add micorrhizal wotsit in to the base of a wide pit. Don't bury the graft - use old soil mark. Are you staking? Add compost to your planting mix.
Good luck

[FB.]

I'd suggest about six inches to 1ft (15-30cm). I would not go closer than six inches (15cm) nor further than 18 inches (45cm).
Make sure that you can at least see/reach behind it if you need to weed/prune etc. Also consider if the fence needs to be replaced or repaired - including access to dig holes in the ground (even if you have to shorten a couple of the espalier arms for the work to be done and then let the arms re-grow).

Eventually, after many years, the trunk may be several inches (15cm) across, so allow for the trunk to thicken - hence why it shoudn't be closer than six inches.

If it is too close, beware your neighbours possibly using garden chemicals which may affect it.
Pruning is required for espaliers (otherwise they becomes trees!) and it should therefore be no problem to prune to prevent and espalier from pushing the fence over as it ages.
The roots of small trees are not likely to cause underground damage; it's if they're allowed to become big trees that the roots can damage foundations but even then it depends on the soil type and the amount of ranfall; subsidence is most likely on clay soil in low-rainfall pars of the country; the clay dries and shrinks and a big tree can suck up a lot of water.
On sand/gravel soils and where soil moisture doesn't fluctuate too much, subsidence isn't much of a problem. I'm on sand/gravel with a trace of chalk (not subsidence prone) and I'm happy to have some MM111 and M25-rootstocked (very vigorous roots) large espaliers trained against my house walls.

.

Note that pears - epsecially when on the commonly-used quince rootstock - prefer moisture-retentive and reasonably fertile soil. If the fruit suffers from water stress while growing, it may drop, split or rot from the core outwards.

[VirginVegGrower]

Told ya, you needed Mr FB

[mrbadexample]

Thanks FB and VVG. It's a Williams Bon Chretien on a Quince C rootstock, 2 year cordon, bare root.

I was going to get an apple, but I've been given them all year long, but nary a sniff of a pear.

A foot it is then. Do I still need to plant it vertically, or angle it slightly towards the fence?

And yes, I need to nip out and get a stake tomorrow before it goes in.

[VirginVegGrower]

I've got that one!

[mrbadexample]

Well I hope this is ok:




How long before I get pears?

[FB.]

Quince C rootstock is one of those which will grow madly in the early years and then stops growing and won't want to restart. I actually made a reference to this phenomenon on another topic recently.

".....Quince C, the dwarfing rootstock for pear, appears to exert its dwarfing effect primarily through its effect on cropping.......trees on it grow vigorously in the first few years in the orchard before their growth is checked by heavy, precocious cropping....".......".....The size of apple trees on some relatively vigorous rootstocks may also be reduced to below their potential because they induce precocious cropping. This is particularly so for MM106 and M25........"

I suggest winter-prune only in the early years and no fruit allowed for the first 2-3 years or you may stunt it (the phrase is "spur-bound") and may never get it restarted.
Some people let the odd few fruits develop but at that stage there are more pests than fruit (two blackbirds, two pears) and the tree ends up wasting its energy feeding the pests. Fruit from young/fast-growing trees is poor quality anyway.

[mrbadexample]

Is there anything I need to be doing now to keep it happy? It was planted nearly 4 months ago - does it require a feed or anything?

What do I have to watch out for to prevent it fruiting in the early years?