Pyracantha Berry Removal?

Hello
I have a large Pyracantha which is still covered in many berries. Usually by this time of year the Pigeons have eaten most of them but not this year.

Should I prune and remove the berries now?

Thanks
Robin

 

Hi,

Expect other birds will soon strip them off in the next few weeks as they are looking for food while nesting/breeding.
If they do not and the berries are looking mouldy etc. then yes just snip them off.

Cutting Pyracantha can be painful ! - so get yourself a pair of Welders Gloves which can protect your hands and wrists from those evil thorns.
SIP TIG Welding Gauntlets

 

Just out of interest, what colour are the berries? We have red, orange and yellow pyracantha plants and all the berries were eaten well before Christmas. It's always the red that go first, then the orange and the yellow are last, simply because the blackbirds are attracted to them in that order.

 

Suspect its due to loss of population ,possibly Avian flu ) and the probable attractions of thousands of hectares of Wild bird food grown for Defra under their (misguided ) SFI schemes. They may be back now that the crop has gone .

 

Ours was stripped in November so it may be local populations fluctuating