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Help with pruning tree!?

Discussion in 'Trees' started by scatz, Nov 11, 2015.

  1. scatz

    scatz Gardener

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    My landlady asked a while ago if I could lop the top of a tree off that we have in the garden. I forgot all about it until now!

    Do I just chop the top off?
    Is it the right time to do it?

    Here's the tree in question;

    [​IMG]
     
    scatz, Nov 11, 2015
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  2. Sheal

    Sheal Total Gardener

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    It seems a shame to do it but if that's what your landlady wants.....

    Leave the tree until it's fully dormant. While it still has leaves on it the sap is still dropping. I'd leave it another month. :) How much does she want taken off?
     
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      Sheal, Nov 11, 2015
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    • ARMANDII

      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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      How much of the tree does your Landlady want lopping, scatz?. Has she indicated any height? I would prune it by a third as that won't set the tree back but will make it form a bushier shape over the next few years.....and that might keep the Landlady happy.:snork:
      Sheal is right, a tree is best pruned when it's dormant. But to be honest, looking at the tree, I think it is probably dormant now. Leaves drop due to chemical processes expanding the bottom of the leaf stem and loosening it off the branch, but it is a fairly long process and carries on after the tree is dormant so a tree doesn't have to be leafless to be fully dormant.:coffee::snork:
       
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        ARMANDII, Nov 11, 2015
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      • scatz

        scatz Gardener

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        Thanks both.

        Armandii, she wanted around a 3rd lopped off funnily enough. I shall set about it within the next week or so then.
         
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          scatz, Nov 12, 2015
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        • ARMANDII

          ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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          Well, a third off won't do the tree any harm, scatz, especially as it's only a young tree. And, as I said, the pruning will encourage it to form a bushier shape. Let us all know how you get on and show us a pic of the finished pruning.:thumbsup::coffee::snork:
           
          ARMANDII, Nov 12, 2015
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        • pete

          pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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          • Agree Agree x 1
            pete, Nov 12, 2015
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          • WeeTam

            WeeTam Total Gardener

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            Thats just what I was thinking.
            If you prune it now you wont have to worry about future growth because it will die from silverleaf.
            To be honest it looks like it will never grow into a nice shaped tree as there are too many trunks already on it and chopping the top off will just give another mass of side shoots making it look a hole lot worse.
            To be honest Id get a new tree bud.
             
            WeeTam, Nov 12, 2015
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          • pete

            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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            I'm not quite sure that silver leaf is a cert if you prune now, but I do think it is a possibility.

            And the tree is a very bad shape.
            I'd be interested to know if it flowered last spring?

            Just wondering if we are mostly looking at rootstock growth?
             
            pete, Nov 12, 2015
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          • ARMANDII

            ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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            Naah, this is a Cherry
            [​IMG]

            And that's the tree.:dunno::snork:
            [​IMG]
             
            ARMANDII, Nov 12, 2015
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          • TreeTreeTree

            TreeTreeTree I know sh!t about trees

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            Cherry tree. Prune in the summer to avoid possible silver leaf infection. Reduce in height with neat cuts from a sharp, clean pair of secateurs, cut out the whippy stems at the base.
             
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              TreeTreeTree, Nov 14, 2015
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