A wide range of trees, fruit trees, shrubs and climbers that respond well to being pruned include:

• Willow (Salix), apples, pears, cherries, plums and figs
• Ornamental trees such as sorbus and laburnum
• Other shrubs and climbers that can be spur pruned such as wisteria, campsis and vines
• Many hedging plants are suitable for pleaching or making into raised hedges – ash (Fraxinus), beech (Fagus), chestnut (Aesculus), hornbeam (Carpinus), lime (Tilia) and plane (Platanus)

Different types of living structures

• Pleaching produces effects similar to hedges on stilts, except the growth is woven
• Hedges on stilts produce a thicker screen than pleaching and are less labour intensive to maintain
• Woven willow structures such as 'fedges' – a cross between a hedge and a fence – are fun to make but need annual maintenance
• Arbours and tunnels, arches, gazebos and bowers require more skill to form but are usually striking
• Espaliers, fans and cordons are methods usually used to train fruit trees, but can be used for ornamental plants such as cotoneaster and pyracantha. They can be trained in a range of creative designs

To see a wide selection of trained fruit, visit RHS gardens and West Dean Gardens free as part of RHS membership.

• Fruit trees trained as espaliers, fans and cordons are pruned in summer
• Deciduous raised hedges are pruned in late summer and evergreen hedges are pruned in summer
• Trees such as sorbus can be trained and pruned in winter

Erect a ready made plain gazebo framework made from galvanised tubular steel 3.4m (11ft) in diameter and 2.5m (8ft) in height.

• Select young whitebeam (Sorbus aria) trees with fairly flexible stems. They do not need to be clear of lower side branches as these can be removed later
• Plant each tree approximately 1.3m (just over 4ft) apart
• Allow the trees to establish for a year before starting to remove lower side branches (if necessary), a few branches each year
• To allow space for a table and set of chairs, aim for 2m (6½ft) of clear stem before the lower branches start
• When each tree reaches the top of the arch, train the central leader over the top and into the middle of the structure before cutting back
• As side branches grow over the top, weave and tie them in horizontally
• In time, the structure will become self-supporting and the frame can be removed

How to make a hedge on stilts

• Create a well covered framework as you would for pleaching
• Each winter, prune back the previous season's growth by at least half to encourage branching
• A hedge on stilts can also be clipped in the same way as you would for a regular hedge
• The resulting stilt hedge produces a much thicker screen than pleaching

Links

Trees and shrubs: buying
Trees and shrubs: planting
Hedges: planting
Hedges: selections

There are few pest and disease problems. However, common problems that affect fruit trees may be seen. For example;

• Aphids may cause stickiness on chairs in arbours and on plants themselves
• Woolly aphids can cause damage on apples and shrubs such as pyracantha
• Apple and pear scab causes unsightly markings on leaves and distorts fruit
• Bitter pit causes brown sunken spots on fruits and a bitter flavour in severe cases
• Codling moth damage is seen as tunnels inside the fruit running to the core