McBad wrote:
Hi, we have a large flowering cherry in our garden which is getting too big.
I need some advice on pruning it. I'm guessing now might be about the right
time as it is shedding it's leaves all over our and our neighbours gardens.

The main trunk must be about a foot in diameter and comes up to about five
feet height where, through some horrible arboricultural wizardry, the trunk
splits into eight to ten major branches. These branches go up in a roughly
conical overall shape to a guesstimated overall height of thirty feet plus.

Because of all these extra branches the centre of the cone / crown is very
crowded. I also wonder if they are 'over loading' the main trunk beneath,
because at times that has split and wept sap and there looks as if there is
a hollow area behind the bark at one point.

What I intended to do was select two or three of the major branches and cut
them out just above the five foot level. There are some on the 'down wind'
side that could go and give the main cone a more regular shape. Thereafter
I'd want to cut at least five foot off the top and thin the centre a bit...

Any comments or advice would be apreciated. Is this the right time of year
to do it for example?

I wonder if you'll appreciate this comment... Yes, this is the ideal
time to prune it - prune at ground level and plant another.

No, seriously, now is not the time to prune anything of the Prunus genus
(plums, cherries, almonds, apricots, etc.) As someone mentioned
already, they are susceptible to silver leaf fungus.

Again, quoting from "RHS Pruning and Training" (Brickell & Joyce):

"The pruning of nearly all ornamental Prunus is best kept to an abolute
minimum. Where formative pruning is necessary, it should be done as
early as possible aiming to create well-formed trees that will need
little further attention in later life. Keeping pruning wounds small,
and pruning in midsummer, reduces the risk of diseases such as silver
leaf. In common with the stone fruits, ornamental Prunus are sometimes
affected by gumming."

It looks like you may have missed the boat with this tree, so be
prepared to be disappointed. It's quite late in its life for serious
pruning now and the signs of weeping and the hollow area may be very bad
news.


Perhaps think of planting a smaller tree?