Taller thornless tree that looks like blackthorn?

s7ryf3925pivug

We have a tree that looks like a blackthorn, with the flowers and the start of the berries now, but it looks like it's over 10m and it doesn't seem to have thorns.

1. What is it?

2. If we cut it to reduce its height, will it live?

3. If we cut it to reduce its height, will it grow vertically?

Lovely trees, but been asked to cut them to remove potential hazard if they blow down in a storm.

magicbastarder

Alicia Noisy Kidnapper wrote: »

Lovely trees, but been asked to cut them to remove potential hazard if they blow down in a storm.

by a neighbour?

s7ryf3925pivug

magicbastarder wrote: »

by a neighbour?

Guy arranging gas tank replacement.

looksee

Could it be a wild cherry? Any chance of a pic?

s7ryf3925pivug

I think you might be right. Google says shallow roots, don't grow near buildings. That's unfortunate as it means we probably need to cut more of them in case they fall into the road.

No decent pic. Might take one tomorrow

jaffa20

Alicia Noisy Kidnapper wrote: »

Guy arranging gas tank replacement.

Gas man is a tree surgeon now too?

s7ryf3925pivug

jaffa20 wrote: »

Gas man is a tree surgeon now too?

He has to look out for any hazards where a tank is to be placed. I guess if a tree falls on a gas tank it could go boom.

_Brian

You could have them assessed.
Probably fine he was just doing his job letting you know the risks

magicbastarder

Alicia Noisy Kidnapper wrote: »

He has to look out for any hazards where a tank is to be placed. I guess if a tree falls on a gas tank it could go boom.

i would be worried about a tank that could be ruptured by a 10m tall tree falling on it.

though i guess the concern would be the pipework rather than the tank itself.

Lumen

First work out exactly what it is. Cherry prob. won't be worth saving.

Tree would need to be quite close to the tank to cause a problem. Not much force at the tip of a falling tree as it's all thin branches.

s7ryf3925pivug

Pic. Had lots of white flowers until recently.Pretty certain it's a wild cherry after looking it up and comparing. I think there are three of them there beside each other, as well as a eucalyptus in the mix.

Still not clear on whether it can be pruned to a shorter height without killing it, and if it will grow in height afterwards. If it would stay the same height I could get just a couple of metres pruned I think. If it would need annual trimming I'd need it reduced to a height where I could do it myself afterwards - which would be about 5 m max. Would it survive being cut that short in that case?

s7ryf3925pivug

_Brian wrote: »

You could have them assessed.
Probably fine he was just doing his job letting you know the risks

Just doing his job yes. He has the final say on whether the tank can go there with the tree in place, as his role is compliance.

looksee

Its not considered a good idea to prune any sort of cherry trees as they are subject to disease getting into the cuts. However if it is a choice between pruning it and cutting it down then I would prune it. You are usually recommended to prune in winter but I recall seeing an article about pruning cherries in summer as the tree would heal more quickly. No idea about that, but you can get pruning paste or gel I think that you put on the cut to stop infection.

Roen

looksee wrote: »

Its not considered a good idea to prune any sort of cherry trees as they are subject to disease getting into the cuts. However if it is a choice between pruning it and cutting it down then I would prune it. You are usually recommended to prune in winter but I recall seeing an article about pruning cherries in summer as the tree would heal more quickly. No idea about that, but you can get pruning paste or gel I think that you put on the cut to stop infection.

Was always told to prune cherry in July. Not sure of the logic.

my3cents

Roen wrote: »

Was always told to prune cherry in July. Not sure of the logic.

Its when canker and silver leaf are least active. However formative pruning is normally spring or after fruiting - thats really just small branches.

Donald Trump

jaffa20 wrote: »

Gas man is a tree surgeon now too?

He might have been just taking the piss and joking




Gas man so he is

standardg60

First thing I'd say is to leave that tree well alone.
The chances of a young healthy multi-stemmed tree like that blowing over are pretty slim, and it's already been well tested the last couple of years.

As regards pruning cherries it's not something I'd usually recommend either, they don't generally respond well to it and disease entry is always a risk.
If necessary summer pruning is advised, as above disease spores are less prevalent, and the theory is that the rising sap helps prevent infection too.

s7ryf3925pivug

standardg60 wrote: »

First thing I'd say is to leave that tree well alone.
The chances of a young healthy multi-stemmed tree like that blowing over are pretty slim, and it's already been well tested the last couple of years.

As regards pruning cherries it's not something I'd usually recommend either, they don't generally respond well to it and disease entry is always a risk.
If necessary summer pruning is advised, as above disease spores are less prevalent, and the theory is that the rising sap helps prevent infection too.

It has some yellow leaves with black spots. Is that something that could eventually make it susceptible to falling?

The eucalyptus in the same spot seems to be in a bad way as it has woodlice in some of its branches, which I understand to mean those parts of it are rotten.

The yellow leaves/black spots are an issue for a lot of the trees here. Just been collecting them and branches with a lot on them, and binning them (excluding from compost).

I'd prefer not to cut the tree. It's a lovely feature and I like cherries.

Might not be able to place tank there anyway. Needs full pipework installed and there are hedges and driveway between it and the boiler if it goes from there. Not sure where else it could go though. Need to wait for a site inspection.

standardg60

Some yellow leaves with black spots is not something I'd generally worry about.
I don't see a eucalyptus in that pic, it may be an evergreen oak but hard to tell. I'd cut it out anyway.
Apart from that I'd place the tank elsewhere (is it gas or oil), as the underground pipes are more likely (though still unlikely) to be affected by roots than the tree falling on the tank.

s7ryf3925pivug

It seems that you have to give 21 days notice at a garda station if you're felling or uprooting a tree over 10 years old. You may not cut them between March and October except for boundaries.