Serious maintainance for a cherry and getting rid of driveway invaders

I'm sorry Cherry, I have pretty much ignored you over the last 19 years and now you need a session at the salon and some brambles removed.
So I'd like some advice on what I should do for this cherry with regards pruning. Should I prune her hard back or can I do something more maintainence like. I realize I can hack the brambles where they go into the ground. I'll be pruning the Plum trees hard behind there too. Which will give Cherry more light. To be honest the plums are invading the garden quite enthusiastically, but not as much as the brambles.
Yes, I'm attempting a sort of makeover this year for my neglected garden as a whole.
It'll remain grass and trees, and will have a bit of fencing work done too.
My second thingy is stuff that has sprouted up along the parking spaces wall. Whatever they are, these young trees are well rooted into the asphalt. Can I just chop 'em off above the root and deal with any new branches that appear, or will they try to sucker up elsewhere. If so, how can I kill them off without using chemicals? I refuse to use chemicals on anything natural!!!!!!!!!!
If closer images of Cherry are needed, let me know.

 

Hello cheapo, welcome to GC Top priority, get rid of the brambles. Don't cut them at ground level, dig the roots out. And be prepared to tackle any new growth that comes back from bits of root left in the ground. Once they're gone, you'll have a better idea of what to do with Cherry! Any pruning you do there is best done in a dry spell in summer, to prevent disease entering the cuts. Not sure what we're looking at re. the driveway. Do you mean those bare, woody stems? Or the greenery underneath?

 

Thanks for the quick reply noisette. I'll tackle the brambles as soon as I can then. And yes, those bare woody stems have grown up from amongst the leaf litter etc against the wall. I had a good old tug on one the other day and it is extremely well rooted. I just don't want any roots getting into that wall as it has a ten foot drop on the other side to the thorny bushes by a footpath right by a big cherry tree that grows there. (not the same one as the one in my garden though)
I may have read somewhere about using vinegar on cut stems to kill back plants.

 

I use white vinigar for most things in the garden but any tree stems that are growing near flowers i do use neat white vinegar but if you have brambles you would need to dig them up and roots first

 

Thanx Janet, vinegar it is then! But no these treelets aren't near anything we want around as it's just weeds etc sprouting through tarmac behind a barrier by our parking spaces. The brambles are elsewhere.

 

Hello Cheapo and welcome. Somehow I suddenly feel like the Sinaman from the TV series the Chase. So after some 19 years you have decided to turn your attention to your garden. Please. I do hope you don't take offence at this.

Had you posted this message as a new member, having perhaps recently aquired a new, much neglected garden, but my friend...! 19 yrs. 'Hells Bells' never mind let's try and help you. You mention also apart from this cherry tree that brambles are taking over the garden including the plum trees. However, whatever. This sounds like a bramble infested fruit orchard. Assuming that your cherry tree is a cultivated cherry and not one of the many flowering, bird cherries.
First and foremost. Get out there and clear th land of the brambles and other weed invaders. No good chopping them down. Dig them out. Once done. Concentrate on the trees. First. Get rid of all the weedy growth that has attached itself. Stand back and take a really god look at what you have neglected for the past 19 yrs. Be honest with yourself. Not a pretty sight. Now please ask yourself. Can I really deal with this????. From your photos the trees are far gone from being fruit productive. May I suggest. You clear the undergrowt and the unwanted tree invasion. Now stand back and allow a professional team to do the pruning.. I wish you well.

 

Unfortunately vinegar is chemicals. Acetic acid amongst other things.

 

Vinigar is Acetic Acid. Use in the garden is simply as a herbicide. The acid content consists of. Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen all of which are obtainable from the air. Acetic acid can infuence the Ph of the soil etc. Vinigar has proved to add some longevity to cut flowers etc. However in this dilemma and as a plant pathologist, honestly I fail to identify any beneficial assistance.

 

Without knowing what the saplings are, it's a job to say whether they'll re-sprout if you chop them off at ground level. As with the brambles, though, if you keep on top of any new growth that appears, eventually they'll give up If we're all going down the fish'n'chip shop route to weed management, you could use salt on a driveway, as long as there's no danger of it being washed onto areas where you do want to grow plants.

 

Thanks for all the advice peeps. I wasn't intending to soak the ground/asphalt with vinegar, just maybe use it as a spray, I know that acetic acid occurs in nature and is basically organic, but is produced in bulk from other more toxic chemicals. Have I read somewhere about making a plasticine cup around a cut off stem and filling it with vinegar? Sounds horrible. So the vinegar was just a suggestion really. I'll stick to hacking, pruning and watching for new growth.
The "driveway" is actually a communist, I MEAN communal parking area. I did clear everything out by the wall about 12 years ago, having dropped a few notes through a few doors about it. Didn't receive any assistance though, just like when I started cutting the grass in front of all the houses after I asked why the council didn't do it and found out it was crown land.
The cherry and plums are all at the end of my garden, with the plums being very tall previously and blocking the neighbours morning sunlight, so I did remove about six to eight feet of height from the tallest two trees a year ago. Then went back to ignoring stuff.
I really must find a way to kick my own backside!
The plums actually went crazy in one particular, fairly dry year and produced a vast crop of golden fruit. Even the over laden tips of the top branches bent down like fishing rods with Wales on the hook and were accessible just a couple of steps up the ladder. I couldn't let it go to waste and harvested as much as I could. Not picking up anything off the ground as I had four cats at the time. I distributed the 27 pounds of fruit to various neighbours and got back a handful of jars very nice jam for my trouble.
The Cherry has never really produced any fruit worth mentioning, but she has dark red leaves and fruit. I will remove the brambles over the coming weeks. After clearing the plum tree tops that I left in a pile last year and then strimming the grass and cutting out the plum suckers that have sprung up in ever decreasing sizes as they get further away from the parent.
What a shame everyone and their kids can't grow up eating things that have NEVER felt any chemicals on their leaves!
Yes, I am considering at the very least getting a pro in to give paid advice, despite the fact that I'm on here chatting about it too. And if, perhaps a quote for the work is affordable/reasonable, then maybe . . .