Editing Espalier (section)

==Plant selection, installation, and maintenance==
[[File:01002stepoverbig.jpg|thumb|A stepover espalier with recently tied branches]]

Espalier plants on solid walls are usually installed {{cvt|6-12|in|cm|round=5|order=flip}} from the base of that wall, to allow space below ground for roots to grow in all directions as well as space above ground for good air circulation and [[pest control]].<ref name=Powell/> Supports for wire guides, which are generally necessary to train an espalier into a design, are installed first, directly into a wall constructed of suitable material.<ref name=Powell/> [[Masonry|Masonry walls]] are ideal for placing [[U-bolt]]s, eye bolts, or eye screws, anchored with either plastic plugs or expandable lead shields, directly into the mortar joints.<ref name=Powell/> Wooden walls may be better fitted with galvanized nipples, using turnbuckles for adjustment of the wire tautness.<ref name=Powell/>

Suitable, established and healthy plants, three to four feet tall and perhaps in three-gallon containers, are available from most [[Plant nursery|nurseries]].<ref name=Powell/> Some may even have trellises already installed. These plants could also be good candidates for espalier treatment if their form is similar to the intended design, as they frequently have already been pruned into a flattened overall plant shape.<ref name=Powell/> All that is required for such specimens is [[transplanting]].  Unpruned plants benefit from being allowed to become well established following transplant, before pruning them gradually into their flattened profile and training them as designed.<ref name=Powell/> Any major pruning needed is generally accomplished either while the plant is dormant or, for flowering plants, during the proper season for pruning that species.<ref name=Powell/> Bending and training of the limbs that will remain in the design is done during the progression of the summer season, when they are most flexible.<ref name=Powell/>