wrote in message
ups.com...
I wonder if anyone who has any experience with elder trees could
kindly give me some advice? Unfortunately, my botanical and
horticultural knowledge is very poor, and my neighbour has asked that
I help her cut down a trio of 15ft high elder trees that she says is
killing a neighbouring cherry tree (by taking up all the nutrients) in
a small area that we share with a number of houses. Is this a common
problem with elder trees, and is it necessary to cut down them down,
or is there an alternative solution? I am, quite happy to cut them
down, but since its not a minor operation, I thought I should check
first.

Thank you.

It could be said that the cherry tree is taking nutrients from the elder :-)

I like elder, the flowers and fruit make lovely drinks and it keeps away
witches - there aren't any in our street.

Well, some would disagree but ...

Elder does tend to be invasive, it seeds easily and grows anywhere and for
some reason it has a bad (false) reputation with many people. I doubt that
your neighbour's tree is being killed by elder but if she wants them cutting
down I hope she's paying for it. They'll likely grow somewhere else, from
seed. It's hard to be without them. They're quite short lived anyway - in my
experience.

Mary
Mary