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Name that tree

jamie.76jamie.76 Posts: 2
in Plants
Hi. We moved into or house a couple of years ago and theres a small tree in the front garden but we have no idea what it is. It seems to flower one year (small pink flowersl,  and fruits the nextk(Look like small bright red apples). Would like to find out how big its going to grow and if the fruit is poisonous to animals as weve just got a dog.
   thanks for any info

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    Looks like a crabapple tree to me.  The fruit can be made into crabapple jelly and are valuable to wildlife if just left.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    That's a variety of ornamental crab apple (Malus) ... it will do your dog no harm even if he eats the fruit and it's a good tree for wildlife, with blossom for insects and the fallen fruit is great for blackbirds and other birds who struggle to find food in the winter. 

     It's a perfect tree for small front gardens and will not grow too large for that location.  

    It doesn't look as if it's doing very well ... perhaps it struggled for water in the summer drought? ... I would clear a circle of grass around it about a meter in diameter as the grass competes with the tree for water and nourishment. 

    Then you could mulch the area with some well rotted manure (in bag from the garden centre) ... just don't let it touch the trunk ... and in the spring sprinkle some Fish, Blood & Bone general fertiliser around it and water it in.  That'll perk it up and hopefully then it'll blossom every spring  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • jamie.76jamie.76 Posts: 2
    edited September 2018
    Great .  Thanks for the help.  It does seem to be growing quite quickly. But all the branches seen to be growing on the sun facing side so its starting to lean a bit. Should i be looking to prune some of the branches? 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    You could do a gentle bit of re-shaping in the winter ... if you post a photo of it on here when it has no leaves on, so we can see the whole silhouette, we can help you decide where to make your cuts to produce a natural looking tree rather than, as is often seen, something more like a shaving brush  ;) 

    What you have to remember with pruning trees is that cutting hard back stimulates new growth and you end up with a lot of growth on the side where you wanted less  :o

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    edited September 2018
    Dovefromabove said:
    What you have to remember with pruning trees is that cutting hard back stimulates new growth and you end up with a lot of growth on the side where you wanted less  :o
    What Dove said above is important to note.  Also that 'summer pruning' restricts growth.  It's a bit late for that now but you should be able to summer-prune where the branches are too long and winter-prune the side with less growth.  Over the course of the next few years you should be able to make it more balanced.  Some general advice from the RHS:
    I've just noticed a ragged break on the bottom-right which looks like a branch broke off in the past (maybe overloaded with fruit?) and you need to make a clean cut there as it is an entry point for disease.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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