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Will it recover from "surgery"?


This is a photo of my neighbour's lilac tree. One section came down a couple of days ago, and she has had a gardener/tree surgeon here today to cut out and remove damaged branches, and at the same time, he has cut (butchered?) the rest of the tree. He says it will regrow. I have my doubts. Any thoughts/advice?

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    IMHO, give it a good mulch/ feed. and keep it well watered for the rest of the season and I think it should be fine. 
    No guarantees though. Could go either way.
    Devon.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I'd have removed those stump ends, They will die back and that's where the rot sets in. 
    But, if it had been me, if I was going to butcher to that extent, I'd have taken them much lower so they didn't regrow like suspended bushes with a bare base


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2019
    Years ago, having not grasped Ma’s instructions, Pa mistakenly cut a huge lilac right down to soil level ... it regenerated beautifully and was much better for if ... and of course Pa claimed the credit 😉 
    I agree with @nutcutlet ... I would cut it hard back to knee height, feed with FB&B and wait for a rejuvenated shrub 😊 

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





  • pr1mr0sepr1mr0se Posts: 1,193
    Thanks for all your advice.  It is my neighbour's tree and she, in her 80s and getting over one cataract operation and another in the offing, is not going to be able to cope with much in the way of mulching, watering etc.  I, too, would have instructed the chap to cut the lilac much further down because of the potential for die-back and a rather odd-looking tree if it should regrow.
    I will have a word with her, bless her, and see if I can help with mulching etc but I doubt I can do as much as necessary with regard to watering, especially in the hot, dry weather we are forecast.
    All we can do is cross our fingers and hope that the shrub manages to survive.  It has been a joy to share it over the fence every May.
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