Crabapple damaged by wind - again

Hi,

I have a lovely crabapple ("Prairie Fire") that has been damaged a few times by wind. The worst was a couple of years ago when its leader snapped and I was able to train a branch to become the new leader.

The shape is not nice, there is nice growth in the lower area (that is protected by the fence) but further up there isn't much growth around the leader. New branches were growing and I was hopeful, until they snapped during windy conditions yesterday

I really want to soften the view of the house in the back and I am sadly coming to the realisation that this tree will not achieve that (unless there is something I can do for wind protection until the branches get strong enough, but I am not optimistic).





I would struggle to find another place for it. My best bet would be the front garden, which does need a bit of height (and overall doesn't look great at the moment).



But the spot that I am thinking is too close to the house (just over 2m). I would be happy to install a root barrier, which would also help to limit its size, but I would also need to keep the tree well pruned. I don't know if it's too much to ask of a tree that naturally grows to around 4m... Is the idea a no go you think?



I know that Summer is not a good period for this process -l would probably wait till Autumn, but I like to plan ahead

 

Could you put up some tall tree stakes and link them with horizontal stakes and make a sort of espalier in the air idea?

 

Definitely an interesting idea, thank you. I think I struggled to find stakes that are tall enough when i looked into them in the past (hence the fact that in the end I used a cane for the leader, which was tired to the tree trunk).

 

Maybe something like this? I’ve no idea about delivery costs though.

 

You could perhaps train it to fan out at the top, and support each branch with something strong, cheap, flexible and slim - fishing rods from your local reclaim centre (you can tie them together if they're not long enough). I find they make fantastic plant supports.

 

Thanks both. I will need to think about whether I am willing to give it yet another year & go into this process cost-wise, considering there's no guarantee it will work in the end.

I think replacing would be the easiest option and I am leaning towards that to be honest. On the other side of this border, I have a sorbus ("apricot queen") which has done great in relation to wind, so I could get another one and create more symmetry as well (a 210-240cm specimen would cost around £60, which I would be OK with).

The only thing stopping me is the thought of actually killing the old tree. It seems quite cold. If I can move it somewhere else, I won't feel as guilty. But it I can't do that, rather than create more problems, I might have to toughen up and do it.

EDIT: I am now thinking I can probably move it here, if I can find a new home for that honeysuckle that I only planted a few days ago (and prepare the area really well)...

 

Malus 'Prairie Fire' has a mature height and spread of 4-8 metres and is not ideal for a small garden. Both the position it's in now (close to the fence) and the others you have in mind aren't suitable in my opinion - sorry.

 

Thank you @Sheal, the information is much appreciated.

This is from the site I ordered it from:
I wonder if it might just come on different stock. I have had it for 4 years and it hasn't tried to take over. But that definitely got me thinking that I need to question the information on the site and do more research.

In reality, I do feel that the tree is not a great option considering also the issues with the wind and the weird shape it now has. So the mind says to get rid of it. On the other hand, I hate the process of killing a tree (unless it's a leylandii ). But if I have to do it, I will.

 

I agree - there really isn't enough room to let that reach full potential, even though that can take many years. It's always difficult with trees, or even larger shrubs, because individual circumstances dictate final sizes - ie soil, location, climate etc. It's why it can also vary enormously on seller's sites.
You might be better opting for something that's more often used as hedging for your back fence. Beech, hornbeam, hawthorn etc. Then you can always let it grow into more of a 'tree' along with careful pruning. The drawback of that is - those can all become huge, so you would need to be vigilant.

 

Thank you @fairygirl

I will research your suggestions but I already like hawthorn. Are you aware if all hawthorns respond well to pruning, or whether I should be looking for a specific one (e.g. just the common native one, hawthorn monogyna)? I had already bookmarked this other hawthorn that I really like the look of: Crataegus orientalis - Silver Thorn Tree

I don't mind being vigilant with pruning at all. On the other side of this border I have a sorbus. My neighbour has one and every couple of years he uses a chainsaw to really cut it down (it's quite dramatic), and it comes back beautifully. That was why I got one as well.

 

My usual go to site is the RHS CostasK and I usually find their information is correct. I've posted links to your choices below and they both have the same height and spread.

Malus 'Prairifire'|crab apple 'Prairifire'/RHS Gardening

Crataegus orientalis|eastern thorn/RHS Gardening

As @fairygirl suggested you may be better off with something used for hedging or a garden shrub, it would have more stability against the wind.

 

I planted a couple of trees when I moved here 12 years ago without thinking it through properly . They struggled without adequate space and I removed them after about 5 years. To block out the sight of my neighbour’s home office (shed ) I have used evergreen shrubs with potentially tree like proportions and kept them well pruned, including bay laurel, Thuja plicata, Camellia, and Griselinia. (I have also used three varieties of bamboo as they behave well here because of my shallow, sandy soil and a military regime of being carefully watched and pruned .)

 

Thanks again @Sheal

Yes, the final size of the hawthorn is too big if left to its own devices. I just thought that, since hawthorns are used as hedging plants, it can probably deal with significant annual pruning to keep it in check. I remembered it on the back of the suggestion by @fairygirl to use a hedging plant. Though it's the common hawthorn that's used for hedges rather than that one, I assume they wouldn't be too different regarding that aspect (?). The common hawthorn can theoretically get to an even bigger size.

Beech seems quite appealing, for a hedging plant. The size it can get to if you let it is quite scary though (30m! ). I'm not sure that should be a factor, considering I will be pruning it regularly.

Thank you as well @Plantminded, I will have a look into the shrubs you mentioned.

Other options I guess could be:

• A smaller sorbus (as I know that they can take punishment anyway) e.g. Autumn Spire.
• Amelanchier Obelisk - though it doesn't excite me to be honest. I believe amelanchiers are also fine with pruning.

 

How about Euonymus...

Buy Euonymus:

 

I will have a look, thank you. I have always thought of euonymus as quite small, and I still want to soften the view of the house at the back of the garden, but I can see in your link that there are some taller ones as well