These are the forms I have used in my garden. Links alongside each trained form take you to further details about each example.
ESPALIER, MULTI-TIER
A good form for walls and tall fences, or on wires in the open. Suitable for apples, pears or grape vines. Can be contained within a single fence panel (6′ x 6′) or allowed to spread to double width.
Espalier, 2 tier
For apples, pears or grape vines, grown on a low fence or balustrade. Good as a divider in deep beds with herbaceous ornamentals at its base or as a living fence between vegetable beds.
Step-OVer
A single tier espalier, used to edge beds. Suitable for apples, pears or grape vines.
Double Cordon
A compact form for walls and fences. Often seen trained at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees. Suitable for apples and pears. Can be constrained to a half width fence panel. 3′ x 6′ but 7 to 8f’ high is better.
Triple Cordon
A trident form. Suitable for apples and pears.
LAdder Form
A modified double cordon where laterals are trained inwards along alternate wires to form a ladder. Suitable for apples and pears. Get creative: train apples and pears into any form of horizontal and diagonal forms!
Small Fan
Suitable for red and white currents and gooseberrieswhich produce many stems from the base. Good for a single 6’x6′ fence panel.
Large Fan
Plums, cherries, apples and pears can be trained in this form. It can easily spread to 16ft (5m) across. Consider for a double fence panel 6′ x 12′ or larger
Example
Read more
> Cherry Fan
> ‘Concorde’ Pear
> ‘Brown Turkey’ Figs
> ‘Duke of York’ Cold greenhouse peach
Alternating Fan
By training successive leading shoots to either side a zig-zag pattern is produced. Suitable for plums, cherries, apples and pears.
AlternatE Bay
A method of training cane fruit such as blackberry, tayberry, loganberry etc. The canes shown will produce fruit, new shoots appear from the base and can be tied in the other side to fruit next year.
Example
Cane fruit on shady fence Tayberries
Read more
> Tayberry
Standard – soft fruit
It is common to see orchard trees with a clear stem but soft fruit such as gooseberries and currents can be trained as standards also.
