espaliered

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a nounspecialist

   Trained to grow flat against a wall, fence or frame, with branches spread out in a pattern.

   Grammar: Comes before the noun: an espaliered pear tree.

   Patterns

   • espaliered against something

   An espaliered apple tree covered the south wall.

   The garden had espaliered pears along the brick fence.

   Espaliered branches formed neat horizontal lines.

2. 2verbtransitivespecialist

   Past tense and past participle of espalier: trained a tree to grow flat against a support.

   Grammar: Takes an object: he espaliered the pear tree.

   Patterns

   • espaliered something against something

   The gardener espaliered the peach tree against the warm wall.

   They espaliered several fruit trees to save space.

   She espaliered the vine along a wire frame.

Word forms

Common combinations

espaliered fruit tree

An espaliered fruit tree makes use of a narrow wall.

espaliered against a wall

The pear was espaliered against a wall.

espaliered apple

The espaliered apple produced fruit every year.

espaliered shrub

An espaliered shrub added structure to the courtyard.

espaliered branches

The espaliered branches were tied to wires.

Synonyms and how they differ

trained

Trained is a broad gardening word for guiding growth, while espaliered means a specific flat pattern.

pruned

Pruned only means cut back, whereas espaliered also describes shaping and supporting the branches.

fan-trained

Fan-trained means branches spread out like a fan, which is one particular style of espalier.

Opposites

Word family

espalier noun

a tree trained this way, or the frame it grows on

espalier verb

to train a plant this way

pruning noun

cutting back branches

trellis noun

a frame that supports climbing plants

Commonly confused: espaliered or topiary?

Practice

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