Upon its opening, our new West Conservatory display will include two types of citrus grown in the espalier style. Espalier is the art of controlling a woody plant’s growth by pruning and tying its branches to a frame, often for fruit production. The plants are frequently shaped in formal, two-dimensional patterns, making espalier not only decorative, but a wonderful option for gardens in which space is limited. We will be growing Fingered Citron also called Buddha’s-hand (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis) and Fukushu kumquat (Fortunella obovata) in horizontal tiers, per the design intent.
These plants are the first to arrive onsite for the new West Conservatory, and we can’t wait to share them with you when we debut this beautiful new space in late 2024. In the meantime, we are working with the talented team at Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects to finalize the exact growing specifications (such as what height to start the first tier, how much space between tiers, how much initial pruning to do, etc.) and we began training the plants last week.
Want to learn more about Longwood Reimagined? Join Longwood staff on August 18 or September 15 at 6:30 pm here in our Gardens for Longwood Reimagined Member Talks. It will be your chance to learn more about this extensive project, the work that has been done to date, and what's coming next. Members are free, registration required.
