"Emery Davis" wrote in message
...
Sadly a lovely mature hawthorn in our front garden blew over partially a
couple of weeks ago during the storms. It's just finishing blooming now,
and I'm wondering what I can do immediately with it; the branches are
blocking a door.

My immediate thought was to lighten the crown quite a bit, taking off the
lower hanging branches. I don't know if it can be pushed upright, what
do people think? Also the spot is difficult to get at with the tractor.
Since the trunk is only perhaps 15-20 degrees off of true, my thought is
it might be able to stay as is. I should mention that perhaps 10 years
ago it blew over, but as it was smaller I was able to get it back into
place and stake it. The secondary stakes have been gone for 5 or 6 years
now, I thought it was solid...

Can I start this major pruning now, or would it be much better to wait
for high summer, or indeed winter? It's a bit inconvenient as it is!

Thanks for any advice,

-E



--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

Its widely used for hedging and gets hacked almost to death and seems to
survive, its not know as quickthorn for nothing (the quick referring to
being always alive rather than speed of growth)

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk