"Spider" wrote in message


Cotoneaster.

Gosh thanks! It is just string but I will take it all off immediately
and keep a good eye on my dog!

Just to assure you, I took it off immediately I had stopped posting



Quite a few Cotoneasters have an arching and seemingly horizontal growth,
but C. Horizontalis is distinctive in having a 'herringbone' arrangement
of branches. I was going to add a link here, but Google is agonisingly
slow here just now and won't perform. Do look it up, though, as it's
quite attractive. I only mentioned it in case you (or another reader) had
one, since the pruning time is different.

Yes! I looked it up. Mine is Horizontalis!


I tend to prune out the extension growths on my
Cotoneasters so that the berries are shown off. I usually do this in
autumn, however, and never had any problems. Cotoneasters do not
always respond well to very hard pruning, so only take out larger
branches that you really don't want.

It is rather spreading and the branches are drooping down to ground
level. Noted! A job for next month then?



I would suggest leaving it until November/December, if you can, as it will
be more dormant then and less likely to throw out new soft growth which
would be damaged by frost.

Thank you. It is now marked in my calendar. I am hoping to stay up here
until at least next year if not longer. I am hoping I can get my trees
sorted before I have to go back down.


*Plum Tree:

It gives a silvery metallic appearance to the leaf, not surprisingly!
Sorry, that's not sarcasm, but once again I can't send you a link to an
image, which is very frustrating. I will try again later when Google's
bucked its ideas up. If you do find you have Silver Leaf, you will need
to cut out all infected growth, then burn the prunings and disinfect the
tools used. At last! I've got a link. Hope it works for you:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=245

Yes, it did, thank you! My plum tree has rather holey leaves but no silvery
sheen. More by luck than good judgement I suspect


Sorry, I've obviously not explained it very well *and* I can't send you a
link. I'll try and improvise: |/......

Hope you can follow this: the perpendicular line | is the trunk,
the symbol is the collar,
the slash / is your cut and the dotted line ..... is the branch you are
removing. After pruning, you should be left with: |
It may be necessary sometimes to remove a tiny bit of the collar to get a
clean cut, but there should always be enough left to heal over. I hope
this has helped a bit.
Now, thankfully, you can see the link:
http://treecarepruningandplanting.com/branch-collar.htm

Thank you, yes Btw your improvisation worked very well and I have saved
that site for reference


Hope I've explained that well enough. Anyway, you need to cleanly cut
away the stubs and half branches. Also take out any dead, dying or
damaged wood. Having done this, clean your secateurs/loppers so that
you do not introduce disease to new cuts. Just as with an apple tree,
the plum should not have any inward-growing branches which will stifle
air movement, or branches that cross each other and cause - or may
cause - chafing, so you will need to cut these out.

Right! Looking at it atm, if I cut out all the cross branches, it might
not leave much else. Is it ok to leave it fairly denuded? Will it grow
to fill in the gaps?


Mmmm... you might need to leave some of the less congested cross-growth
which looks healthy, and take it out another time when you see how the
tree responds to this year's work. The important thing is that there is
no chafing and that the tree is as clean of disease as possible.
Since it's not been pruned for some time, I suppose you could even leave
it until next April-ish and prune it in really good weather.

I can do that, yes, but if we do get more good weather within the next few
weeks, would be ok to do it then? Would that give it a better start for
next year or would it not make much difference? Perhaps next April I could
take out the rest?


Apples.

I don't have many apples and some are really nice. A few others look
'scabby' is that what you mean?



Well, 'scabby' has a couple of connotations. It could just be that the
skin appears slightly less than perfect but is perfectly healthy or it
could mean your tree has Apple Scab:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=81
Good, it seems I can send link now.

Ok, I looked up pics of 'apple canker' and 'apple scab'. Judging by the
pics, mine have something that looks similar (but not excessively so) and no
evidence on the branches. The apples inside are clean and tasty.

Is there any advice you can give me to counteract that?




Oooh, just had a thought! Do you know the varietal name of your
apple? It may tell us whether it's tip or spur bearing ... which has a
bearing on the pruning;~).

Yes, it is a James Grieve. I always remember that because when I
planted it, someone asked me what type of apple it is. When I told him
he asked me why I called my tree, James. g

Great! That helps a lot. It is spur bearing, which is much easier to
prune. Whilst you can't exactly prune willy nilly, you can prune
relatively freely without cutting out fruiting wood each year.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/74563/...ve-(D)/Details

Please don't concern yourself too much nor feel you must respond *only*
to me! I am more than happy to wait until you have to time and I am
sure there is a lot more posts that will take your interest.

You are most kind and I am very grateful

Right, I think I've covered your questions from last time, but do come
back if there's something you still don't understand. It does take a
while for it all to sink in.

I am rereading your posts (which are all saved) and have also saved all the
websites you have advised, so I have plenty to keep me out of mischief g


I'm just going to briefly mention your Holly while it's on my mind, then I
shall do some gardening. I need the fresh air.

The pale shoots on the trunk of your holly (or anywhere else they occur)
should be pruned out.

Gosh! That is a surprise I thought they were just evidence of extra
feeding g Sheesh I have a lot to learn)

They're not really doing any harm, but they
probably have little or no chlorophyll, so are not contributing to the
tree, but are using its resources. As ever, dead, dying and diseased
material should be removed (and tools disinfected). Otherwise, it is
really a case of shaping it, if needed, to a fairly natural, balanced and
pleasing shape. Pruning should take place from mid to late summer before
the wood becomes completely hardened. Earlier pruning can result in new
shoots which make the shape uneven again.

Thank you! The tree itself spreads and is rather wild which I like. It is
not taking space I would otherwise want to use and looks very pleasing Do
you think I should prune it anyway, for the sake of its health?


When I come back, I'll try and get your pics again, just in case I've
missed something obvious.

Thank you, you are most kind.


I'm not at all bothered about concentrating on this, Ophelia, so don't
worry. When I need a break or must do a task, I'll use my common sense
and pause a while.

I am very pleased to hear that.

I do have a lot of migraine troubles, so I do take
frequent breaks from the screen, which is my only bug bear.

Oh I am so sorry. I am most content to wait until you are able or feel
you want to help. I feel very blessed that you want to

I could talk
about gardening all day if my brain didn't hurt and, in truth, it's so
nice to help someone as eager to learn as you and so generous with
feedback. I know when you've understood something, which helps me move
forward. Thank you.

Oh! I can't begin to tell you what your help means to me

Thank you so much. Be well soon.

Ophelia



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