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help

positive77positive77 Posts: 8
in Problem solving
I have had cowboy tree surgeon do this to my cherry blossom can it be saved me and my wife are very upset any help would be really appreciated  
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  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    Sorry just working my way down the board so didn't spot this post. 

    Yes this tree can be saved with time and patience. It needs a sensitive pruning in Summer to prevent silver leaf disease. It should then regrow when a good shape should be achieved. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd agree - you'll have to wait and see what happens over summer, and then look at tidying. This is the wrong time of year for pruning them unfortunately.
    Fingers crossed for you that it's ok. 
    I take it you won't be recommending him. Hopefully he'll have galloped off into the sunset with his spurs intact, although I expect you'd gladly be shoving those spurs somewhere....
    If he has any online presence, it's worth messaging him, and if you can also let other people know by that method, they can then be aware.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Cherry trees should never be pruned in winter because of the risk of silver leaf disease. They should be pruned after flowering. Did you ask him to come now? He should have refused.

    However, if the tree doesn't get ill it will be fine. Flowering cherries don't need much pruning, just the removal of dead branches and crossing branches that rub on others. 

    Edible cherries can be pruned more, long branches shortened, middle growth thinned out to let in more light and air for the ripening of fruit. It looks as though that is the sort of pruning he has done. I have seen quite severe pruning done in France and the tree survives and grows back well. The worst thing about your tree is that it has been pruned in winter.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I'd be upset as well, what you've lost is graceful shape and a couple of blossom-free years. you've also been left with too many dead ends with opportunities for die back and infection. that wasn't a tree surgeon, that was a person with a chain-saw and no knowledge


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I trust you have learnt a lesson.  And hopefully other readers.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and l'm sorry that you've learnt a hard lesson. 
    Trees are remarkably resilient, but cherry trees (non edible varieties) are susceptible to the problems as mentioned above.
    If you can afford to, it may be worth asking a qualified tree surgeon to take a look and see what they advise. That is what l would do, at any rate. As others have said, it may take a while before the true extent of the damage is revealed. 
    I suspect that this person shouldn't be allowed within touching distance of a tree, but unfortunately there are many of them around. If he was a recommendation from someone you know that makes it even worse.
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    That's not advice @bédé    Just a really mean thing to say!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited February 2023
    tui34 said:
    That's not advice @bédé    Just a really mean thing to say!
    It is advice.  It is not up to 3rd parties to react.  

    I got a message from "positive77" who explained the unfortunate chain off events. I apologise to them if they were offended, but I think they understand.

    My comments were aimed at others, before it happens.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • positive77positive77 Posts: 8
    I am not offended me and wife are so upset at our stupidity and the fact we have lost the focal point of the garden and it will never be the same 
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    positive77 said:
    I am not offended me and wife are so upset at our stupidity and the fact we have lost the focal point of the garden and it will never be the same 
    But it can be, and likely will be. It's not stupid to call in someone who professes to be more knowledgeable, before finding out they're not trustworthy - it's an education that's all. Trees always look weird when they're pruned hard, but it'll come back, so stop berating yourselves for a mistake! 
    We've all been duped by unscrupulous people in one way or another. 
    Now you have a valuable source of advice here. 😊
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