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pruning an elder now
Fire
Posts: 19,096
Hi,
I have an elder tree that is pretty large. The branches are rubbing against the roof of two sheds and causing problems. I would like to lop off two or three branches to stop damage to the sheds. Could I do it now or would I have to wait for winter? What risks does it pose to the tree?
Thanks
0
Posts
Elder is tough as old boots so cutting branches off now isn't likely to do any harm. I cut one down to a stump about 4 feet high a couple of years ago. It's now well over 10 feet high again.
Thanks
I hear they are quite short lived trees. I'm wondering if mine is coming to the end of it's life. It's around 20 ft high - I inherited it, so I don't how old it is. I don't really want to pay for a tree surgeon to give a five minute option if it's fine.... any thoughts on how I might know
If I take the tips off my black elder in an attempt to make new plants. ......will it stop flowers appearing next year?
If you're talking about the standard elder rather than the black elder, I haven't found it to be short lived. The bottom part of the trunk must be nearly a foot across and has part of a chain link fence embedded in it. We've been in the house nearly 30 years and we didn't plant it!
Mary370, in my experience, elder is easy to grow from seed. I just put a few fresh berries into small pots of garden soil, left them outside all winter and by midsummer I had lots of little bushes, a few inches tall, very leafy and looking as though they meant business. (This was many years ago, I'm blowed if I can remember what I did with them!)
Thanks
The blackbirds eat all my berries and then 'plant' seeds all over the garden. I keep having to root out elder saplings.
The birds don't seem to like to nest in them though - we have an old one that is probably at least 40 and it has never had a nest in it . The branches do sometimes die off and are quite brittle, so perhaps the birds can tell?
Hi Buttercup, my branches are dying off too. Do healthy elder trees do this as a matter of course?
Joshua47...........I've not had flowers or berries for years, as I've been cutting it back.....I had forgotten that it did produce pink flowers until I saw a large black elder recently!