On 10/12/12 5:44 AM, echinosum wrote:
aberdeen;970688 Wrote:
Hello, am new to this forum. My hubby and I have just moved to a new
house and are unsure about this tree in our garden.

Initially I thought it may have been Elder, but now not so sure.
The green berries are grapes, as I hope you realise, they have specific
pruning requirements, but I guess you are not asking about those. The
white berries are I presume what you are asking about. They something
in the Sorbus family, closely related to a rowan. Sorbus with white
berries are often S fruticosa or S cashmeriana, but there are other
possibilities. But knowing it is a sorbus fairly similar to a rowan is
probably enough for you.

You don't normally prune them very much except if you need to reduce it
or repair damage. Prune it when dormant in the winter, don't reduce it
too much at once, try to keep it balanced, would seem to be sensible.

If the grape vine is growing on the tree, you have a problem. Grape
vines can become very heavy to the extent of breaking the tree. From
your photo, I believe the grape vine is quite mature and thus quite heavy.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary