It’s all to do with light. It does us humans good to be in the sunshine, and the same applies to fruit trees, in the sense that they need good light throughout. If the trees have been left to themselves and have produced masses of shoots all round, virtually a solid mass of growth that creates darkness inside the canopy of the tree, then the leaves are no longer able to carry out the functions they were designed for. Photosynthesis goes into survival mode: the little energy that the shaded leaves manage to produce is used simply to keep the structure alive. There is no energy left to create productive fruiting wood as a replacement for older non-productive branches. How do you trim a Japanese weeping cherry tree? Do you trim everything from the bottom so that the top remains? Bill replies... The following plants are particularly prone to bleeding, so pruning at the correct time will help prevent it. The spores of the silver leaf fungi disease are transferred by wind on water droplets and are dominant in very moist damp conditions Dave and these are the main reasons why it is always advisable to prune Cherry Trees during the Summer months with June being the optimum month. Again with Cherries it is always advisable to treat the pruned branches with Arbrex Tree Sealant. Populus (poplar):Prune late summer or early autumn, except for P. x candicans and its cultivars, which can be pruned in late winter and do not usually bleed.

BBC - Lancashire - Nature - Ask the gardener: Cherry trees

I have got a flowering cherry tree which over the last few years has given plenty of flowers. This year there are only a few buds, on looking in the soil I have found the roots have got white fungus on them. The area it is planted in gets flooded when we get heavy rain and takes a long time to dry out. Could you tell me what I can do, and if I need to dig it out and could I plant another one? Bill replies... The trunk which is left with the good branches should not be pruned the following winter. The tree will then be resettled. I would like to ask for further clarification. The tree and the others have experienced the stress of reduction of size (no more than a third each year for four years) plus a recent drought and one season of a severe infestation of tent caterpillars. This tree is unfortunately placed in front of my house, so the appearance is a priority with this specific tree. You have to balance the risk of waiting till the summer months to prune your Cherry Tree against one, or even both of the large limbs which are hanging over the road - breaking off and causing damage.I have planted my cherry tree last June, and this year it started to flower. I want to know what find of feed should I use for it to grow healthy and how many times should I feed it during the season? Bill replies... You would Jobie be far better using a soil base compost such as John Innes No 2 or, you could use a mixture of a multi purpose compost and John Innes compost. It is important that until your trees get established to keep an eye on the watering and you will also need to feed occasionally throughout the summer months with a liquid fertiliser. If you intend to plant your trees out in the garden you would be far better doing this late autumn when the soil is still warm and the trees are dormant. Some varieties are particularly susceptible to canker and these include ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’, ‘Lord Suffield’, ‘James Grieve’, ‘Ribston Pippin’, ‘Worcester Pearmain’, ‘Ellison’s Orange’ and ‘Spartan’. Chemical control Having a 25 foot high Cherry Tree eight feet away from your house is quite close Bill and as you mention Cherries do produce quite a number of large surface roots which, will lift paving stones etc. Regarding the foundations of your house you will usually find that during a dry summer the roots of the Cherry will be searching for water and this is when they take available moisture from around the foundations and below the foundations and this is when problems can arise. I feel that you need to get a second opinion from a Tree Surgeon but, I personally, would be quite worried having a tree so close to the house wall.

Arbrex – Creatividad, innovación, desarrollo y gestión Arbrex – Creatividad, innovación, desarrollo y gestión

Please could you tell me why my dwarf cherry tree now has good foliage growing at the top branches but no foliage further down? Also it is inside since mid December and seems to be much happier? Bill replies... Inclusion of a product does not indicate a recommendation or endorsement by the RHS. It is a list of products currently available to the home gardener. I have a small cherry tree and a number of the branches are dying off. There is a mossy type growth basically spread randomly over most of the branches which I tend to scrape off, how can I treat it Bill? Thank you. Bill replies... I have a 25 ft old cherry tree that produces only a few cherries. I don't think it has ever been pruned and is pyramid shaped. There are 2 main limbs but they are almost vertical. I would like to get some fruit and "top" the tree if possible. Can I do this now (February) or do I have to wait till the summer and how should I prune it. Bill replies... I have a fruiting cherry tree and a plum tree. I would like to keep them in a 5 LT plastic pot for now, so what is the best soil to plant them in? Bill replies...But what about a situation in which you have just moved house and you’ve found a totally neglected fruit tree in the new garden? What should be done? Fungicides for gardeners (Adobe Acrobat pdf documentgiving further details ofwound paintsavailable to gardeners) Links Second, I need to be able to prune these trees myself, and am trying to take this tree permanently lower overall by about 12-18 inches. I could reach the top then with less risk that I will fall off the ladder. Another reason the tree is oddly shaped is because the deer raid this tree from both levels. If after 3 or 4 years you can throw your hat through the trees without the hat getting hooked up anywhere you will have done a great job. The old fruit tree will start a new lease in life and will thank you for it by producing wonderful fruits.

Bayer Garden - QD Group

Fruit trees are a wonderful investment. If looked after well, trees will continue to crop year after year, even when the trees are 30 to 40 years old. Vitis(grape vine – edible and ornamental types): Prune after leaf fall but before Christmas to be safe.Your suggestions make good sense to me, but I would like to ask if because the tree has been stressed four years in a row, would it be less traumatic if I took off only part of the selected trunk, plus one top branch of the preferred trunk this year, and then remove the full selected trunk one year later?” This possible gentler approach is shown in the diagram below. My cherry tree is eaten alive every year after the flowers fall. What can I do to stop it? Bill replies... His knowledge is encyclopedic. After training at the under the then Ministry of Agriculture, Bill spent over twenty years at the Department of Biological and Environmental Services at Lancaster University. Now, he's a regular course tutor at Alston Hall, Longridge and Lancaster Adult College.

Apple canker / RHS Gardening Apple canker / RHS Gardening

It could be that your Dwarf Cherry is suffering from Shot Hole Disease Tabitha which is a fungal disease and causes brown spots to appear on the leaves - which then turn into small holes. It could also be caused by one of the winter caterpillars which have been troublesome this year, but of the two the symptoms suggest Shot Hole Disease - which quite frequently happens during a very hot/dry period. Regarding treatment you will need to build up your Dwarf Cherry by feeding with a balanced base fertiliser - this needs to be carried out early spring time and also during the summer. Regarding your Dwarf Cherry looking spindly it could be shortage of nutrients and also growing in a shaded spot. The majority of the large ornamental cherry trees will grow to a height of twenty five to thirty feet and will produce a very vigorous root system and a lot will depend on whether you want to plant any other small plants or shrubs within your garden. I personally would be inclined to choose an alternative tree species such as Ornamental Crab Apple or Japanese Acer Palmatums Cultivars which would be ideal for your small walled garden. Acer(maple): Prune Japanese maples ( A. palmatum and A. japonicum) after leaf fall but before January; prune snakebark maples (e.g. A. davidii, A. pensylvanicum, A. rufinerve) in late summer. For three decades, Bill has travelled the county with fellow judges as a regional judge for North West in Bloom. I would like to repot my cherry trees colt celest in bigger pots, is now the best time? What is the best compost to use? I live in the Channel Islands and the trees face south east, is this a good place for the trees? Bill replies...Your dwarf Cherry Tree Tabitha is a deciduous tree and if left outside will produce new leaves in the Springtime but by bringing your Cherry Tree indoors you have 'forced' your tree to come into leaf early and you will now need to keep your tree in a very light but cool position to avoid the shoots becoming drawn and etiolated and in the Spring - weather conditions permitting - placing your tree outside again. I would wait until early March time Licas before repotting your Cherry Trees. I would use a soil base compost - John Innes No 3 - and mix with the No 3 compost approximately 25% of multipurpose compost. I find the multipurpose compost gives the No 3 compost extra texture and body. I did say wait until early March for repotting but as you reside in the Channel Islands you may need to repot slightly earlier - basically they need to be repotted before they come into leaf.