Discover what cordons are and how to choose a suitable tree for training in this way.

What are cordons?

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A plant that is restricted by pruning to usually one main stem, either upright or at a 45 degree angle, with short fruiting side-shoots (spurs). Apples, pears, gooseberries, tomatoes, redcurrants and whitecurrants are often grown as cordons, especially where space is limited. Sweet peas can be grown as cordons to produce large flowers for exhibition.

• Oblique cordons – a single stem trained at a 45° angle
• Vertical cordons – either a single stem or multiple stems, supported vertically. Single-stemmed forms include Minarette®, Supercolumn and Ballerina® (see What to buy below), while multi-stems are either U cordons (with two stems) or double-U (with four)
• Horizontal cordons – are usually known as a stepovers. See our guide to growing stepovers for full details.

Cordons need pruning annually in late summer. This is easier to manage than on larger trees, but must be done consistently every year. Harvesting is also simple as the fruits are within reach.

Oblique cordons can be grown close together in a small area  ©RHS/Tim Sandall

Oblique cordons:

• Usually more productive than vertical cordons, as training the stem at 45° reduces the dominance of the topmost shoot (known as apical dominance) and diverts energy into fruiting
• Less likely to become overly vigorous (for the same reasons as above)
• A single plant needs more width-space, but you can grow several different cultivars closely side-by-side

• Take up less width-space, but tend to fruit slightly less well than oblique cordons, and maintaining the shape may be more difficult, due to
  The process by which the topmost (apical) bud on a shoot suppresses the growth of buds lower down. It can be suppressed by removing the shoot tip (and apical bud) by pinching out or pruning, which allows the lower buds to sprout, creating bushier, branched growth.

  apical dominance
• Regular pruning is essential to prevent the top part becoming dominant, turning into its natural ‘tree shape’
• Multi-stemmed vertical cordons (U or double-U cordons) are easier to manage – having multiple stems reduces vertical dominance, so plants tend to stay well balanced
• Double-U vertical cordons are particularly suitable for growing in containers, offering an attractive shape and extra fruit
• Vertical cordons can be trained over an arch support, creating an eye-catching feature
• Single-stemmed vertical cordons can potentially reach well over 3m (10ft) if the main stem is left unpruned. However, this can be useful when training over arches

Vertical cordons can be planted either side of a path and trained over arches  ©RHS/Tim Sandall
 

Choosing what to buy

You can buy either pre-trained cordons or one-year-old trees to train yourself from scratch.

Pre-trained cordons

They re the easiest option and will fruit sooner than if you train from scratch, saving you time.

• Buy a two-year-old plant to grow as a single-stemmed vertical or oblique cordon
• Minarette®, Supercolumn are conventional apple and pear cultivars that have been carefully pre-trained to form well-branched vertical cordons. They need regular summer pruning to keep their shape
• Ballerina®, on the other hand, is a series of apple cultivars that have a natural columnar shape and need little or no pruning. But although they look attractive, they tend to be disease prone and the fruit may have less flavour than many conventional cultivars
• With multi-stemmed vertical cordons, starting with a pre-trained tree can give you a head-start of up to four years (for a double-U cordon)
• Your main choice is which
  Gardeners often use the word variety when referring to a specific plant, but the correct botanical term is 'cultivar'. Whichever word you use, it means a distinctive plant or plants, given a specific cultivar name and usually bred to enhance certain characteristics, such as flower or fruit size, colour, flavour or fragrance, plant size, hardiness, disease resistance, etc. Additionally, it is worth knowing that, botanically, variety has another meaning - it refers to a naturally-occurring distinct plant that only has slight differences in its looks. For example, Malva alcea var. fastigiata differs from typical plants by having an upright habit.

  cultivar to buy – see our guide to apple cultivars and our guide to pear cultivars
• Pre-trained cordons are mainly available from fruit tree nurseries online, although larger garden centres may stock a limited selection

Pre-trained cordon   ©RHS/Tim Sandall

Buying: mail order plants

Buying: mail order plants

Buying: trees and shrubs

Buying: trees and shrubs

Training cordon from scratch

• M9 for apples – dwarfing, well suited to cordon training
• M26 for apples – dwarfing, useful for cordons growing in poor soil
• Quince C and Quince Eline for pears – semi-dwarfing, best for cordon training

• Spur-bearers are best suited for cordon training, as they carry their fruit on short side-shoots known as spurs
• Partial tip-bearers may be trained as cordons, although some are more challenging to maintain than others – see FAQs below.
• Tip-bearing cultivars are not suitable for cordon training

The transfer of pollen grains from a male anther to a female stigma, either within the same flower or between two different flowers. It’s usually followed by fertilisation and seed production. Some flowers are pollinated by insects or other small creatures, others are wind pollinated. It’s also possible to pollinate flowers by hand, if you want to breed new plants or ensure successful pollination when there are few natural pollinators.

pollination

Cordons need permanent support, which should be put in place before planting. Oblique cordons are generally kept at 1.5–2m (5–6½ft) tall. Vertical cordons can potentially reach well over 3m (10ft), but can be kept at 2.4m (8ft) or less, so bear that in mind when choosing your planting site and supports. 

The traditional support system, especially for oblique cordons or if planting several vertical cordons, is a series of three horizontal wires 60cm (2ft) apart, with the lowest wire 30cm (1ft) from the ground. These can be attached to a fence or wall, or to 1.8m (6ft) sturdy posts spaced 2–3.5m (7–12ft) apart. The rows should ideally run from north to south, with oblique cordons inclined towards the north, for maximum light penetration.  
If using free-standing end posts, anchor them firmly in the ground and add a bracing support on the inner side at a 45° angle, to keep the posts vertical when the wires are tightened (see photo below). 
 
Use strong galvanised wire (ideally 2.5mm, gauge 12), plus straining bolts to keep it taut. If attached to a wall or fence, the wire should be held at least 10cm (4in) away from the structure to allow for air circulation. 

Other support options include strong trellis or tall, firmly anchored tree stakes.

Support cordons on a series of three horizontal wires, between posts or attached to a wall or fence  ©RHS/Tim Sandall​

Use a small trellis or bamboo canes to support a double-U cordon in a pot   ©RHS/Tim Sandall

Apple and pear trees are best planted from late autumn to early spring, while dormant. Planting is easy – see our step-by-step guide to planting a tree and our video guide to planting trees.
 
When planting an oblique cordon:

• Position the tree so the stem leans at an angle of 40–45°
• If planting more than one, space them 60–90cm (2–3ft) apart – the wider spacing is better when planting in infertile, shallow or sandy soil
• Support the main stem – if using horizontal wires, fix a 3m (10ft) bamboo cane to the wires diagonally at a 40-45° angle, then tie the stem to it in several places using garden twine and a figure-of-eight knot

• Tie the main stem to a sturdy vertical support in several places with a figure-of-eight knot
• If planting more than one, space them at least 60cm (2ft) apart – close planting (60–80cm/24–32in) helps to restrict vigour
• Vertical cordons grow well in containers too – see our guide to growing trees in containers for planting details

Prune an untrained one-year-old tree (maiden) straight after planting in winter:

1. Cut back any side-shoots (laterals) that are longer than 10cm (4in) to three or four buds. Leave any shorter side-shoots unpruned

2. On an oblique cordon, leave the main stem (leading shoot) unpruned. On a vertical cordon, encourage branching by shortening the previous season’s growth on the main stem (the leading shoot) by one-third each winter until it reaches the top of the support

Also note that:

• Pre-trained trees should have already been pruned in this way (but do check), so no initial pruning should be required. Instead, start with First summer pruning, see below

• Ballerina® apple trees grow naturally into a columnar shape – they don’t require any pruning at planting time

First summer pruning

In the first summer after planting, prune cordons when the new shoots have turned woody in their lower third – usually from late-July for pears and mid- to late-August for apples – as follows:

1. On existing side-shoots (that were pruned in the first winter), cut back this year’s new growth to one leaf beyond the basal cluster (the closely growing cluster of leaves at the base of the current season’s shoots - see branch detail digram below marked no 4). You’re essentially pruning any new growth to 2.5–5cm (1–2in) stubs that will form the fruiting spurs

2. Look for any new side-shoots that have grown earlier in the summer directly from the main stem. Cut them back to three leaves beyond the cluster of leaves at their base

3. Leave the main stem (leading shoot) unpruned and tie in its additional growth to the support

   Summer pruning of vertical cordon, step 1 and 2  ©RHS/Chris Lane 

Subsequent summer pruning

Cordons require summer pruning every year, to keep them compact, in good shape and fruiting well. See our guide to summer pruning of established cordons
 
Only Ballerina® trees don’t require routine annual pruning.