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Sorbus pseudovilmorinii berries too heavy

elizabethannebrownelizabethannebrown Posts: 14
in Problem solving
My 7 year old Sorbus pseudovilmorinii has a massive crop of berries this year and the crazily long, whippy branches are bending down, resting on other plants and blocking the path. 

Should we remove some of the fruit to avoid the branches breaking? What would the long term solution be to creating a stronger branch structure? 

The tree leans toward the sun (over the path) and has very long branches which fork at the ends. I’ve been too scared to prune any back - I think I’m not supposed to? But it’s looking a bit daft now.

Photos show bare in March, first leaves in May and current state (July). In March I thought I should be doing something about the branch forking, but never quite got round to it! 

I’ve also noticed a potential problem with root girdling - should I cut that root out? The tree rocks front to back if pushed but not side to side.


Posts

  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    Bumping up the list.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Not the best site if you have a path right next to it, but you are where you are.  :)
    It's still a relatively young plant looking at your 2nd last pic, and will mature and strengthen as it does so, but if you're able to move it so easily, it suggests it hasn't been properly staked, and therefore isn't as stable as it should be. Those roots shouldn't be so evident at the base.
    The berries on rowans do tend to be fairly heavy on young, new branches but it isn't usually a problem - it's how they grow. You can certainly remove some fruit if you feel they're getting in the way, or you can remove some of the lower branches [better done when dormant]  but the main problem is where and how it's been planted. 
    If you're confident, you could move it to a better site later in the year as it's very near that wall which will also be drier. If it's not been planted for more than few years that's not too difficult   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • elizabethannebrownelizabethannebrown Posts: 14
    Thanks Fairygirl, unfortunately there isn’t anywhere else in the garden it could go (other than middle of lawn and kids won’t thank me for that). Actually not too dry there as nice and shaded at the base and gets run off from the patio (it was actually too wet to start with and we had to add drainage). Whilst we sorted that problem we moved the tree to a pot for a year as we thought it would drown the roots. We moved it back the following spring (2017) and yes, from photos it looks like we didn’t stake it when we moved it again! Probably nothing that can be done about incorrect staking at this stage? 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That's good that it isn't too dry, because although they love loads of moisture, they still need adequate drainage. :)
    You can still add a stake, but you'd just have to take care about positioning it. Ideally, an angled one low down on the trunk is the best way, with the top end into the prevailing wind, so it depends which direction that comes in from. In many cases, two are needed, but that's usually for more exposed, windy sites, and you'd need to bear in mind that the wall would be in the way if the wind comes towards it from the house side, because it would be impossible to get a stake in from the correct side. Doing angled stakes also means the roots aren't compromised by them being put in. Staking is done on planting to avoid that problem, but as you say - if you didn't do it when replanting, that's the error and you'll have to do the best you can with it now to get it stabilised. 

    The only other way of doing it in your site is an H frame. That's as it suggests - two battens, one each side, with one across the main trunk, and the trunk tied in correctly to the horizontal. As the trunk isn't very long, that means it would need to be really sturdy as it would be lower down, but the main factor is tying in securely, but leaving enough room for the trunk to mature. It will need checking regularly to see it isn't getting rubbed by the tie, so it's a fine balance. Using proper rubber ties is best, but you can also use things like old tights or sleeves from jumpers or similar. Anything that can be secured well to the frame, then tied more gently round the tree.
    Again, making the uprights a reasonable distance from the trunk is important to avoid damaging the roots. That's really the only solution to get it secure and avoid it failing later when it becomes heftier. 
    Fingers crossed for you.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • elizabethannebrownelizabethannebrown Posts: 14
    Thanks Fairygirl, prevailing wind is from the west, the side it leans towards (it’s pretty sheltered by the curved wall and garden walls/neighbours’ trees/terraced house walls, definitely not an exposed site). So we could still do an angled stake at 7 years if we can get in past the roots. Or possibly an H frame as you suggest. 

    There aren’t many lower branches I could take off, the problem is less with low branches and more with the higher branches just being super long and bending right over. I feel like they’ve put on a massive growth spurt this year (wet Spring?) and wish they’d branched out a bit rather than just growing really long, but not sure how to sort it. If I cut some branches back to encourage forking will I end up with an unsightly mess?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It might be better to wait - get your support in place, and then see how it look later in the year.  :)
    It can be difficult if you remove branches, or partially cut them back, but those should/will harden up, and these swings in speed of growth are quite common, so it might be best to just wait and see how it is over summer and into autumn. Trees can be a bit like that, and there's often points at which you swither about removing or leaving branches. 
    Those do become quite a decent size when happy, and they have a reasonably big spread, so you may have to just see how it goes. I know that's a bit vague, but trees can be like that - and they grow and evolve at different speeds according to conditions. You could find it outgrows that site in a few years, and then you'll have a decision about cutting back or removing. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I've just realised yours is the S. pseudo vilmorinii, which is more lax and spreading in nature compared to the standard S. vilmorinii, so you might  find it always has a more weeping habit. It's not quite as big, and is slower growing from what I've read.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • elizabethannebrownelizabethannebrown Posts: 14
    Yes it’s pseudo, we did try to pick small tree for small site … to avoid problems later on 😂. But a lot of disagreement over which tree between me and my OH so this one was the compromise … if it does fail or fall in a few years neither of us will be crying but equally my philosophy is to tend/save life if possible. Fingers crossed we can make it work. 🤞
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I wish you luck - you can only try your best to help it thrive.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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