Identify tree and pruning advice

woodworm001 · February 2015

Hi, newbie here ...

We recently moved into our new house which has a lovely garden . Our plan is to just 'keep on top of it' this year until we work out what is planted where ...

I do have one slight concern and it's this tree, I think it may be a Larch which if it is will grow very tall from what I've read elsewhere. It's around 15-20 feet tall now and is approximately 15 feet away from the house so I don't really want it getting much bigger.

Am I right to say it's a Larch and whatever it is, how and when do I go about pruning it?

Hopefully those pictures work! Thanks for reading.

Dovefromabove · February 2015

Hi Woodworm

I don't think it's a larch as they lose their leaves in the winter. I'm not good on varieties of evergreens etc, but someone on here will recognise it I'm sure.

I wouldn't prune it - pruning trees tends to encourage growth - there's an old gardening saying "Growth follows the knife". Also at the moment it's an elegant shape which any pruning would destroy, and it provides a lovely focal point in your garden, accentuating the sweep of the driveway. One day it will no longer be there and you'll really miss its input to the structure of the garden.

At the moment I'd keep a watching brief, checking how much it grows over the next few years - then you can work out and plan when it will be time to fell it - in the meantime you can plan the evolution of the garden and how you will replace such a significant contribution to the garden.

I'm very envious of that lovely wall by the way

woodworm001 · February 2015

Hi Dovefromabove, thanks for the reply, I will be taking lots of pictures of the garden so will definitely have a record of it over time. You may well be right in that it's not a Larch, to be honest I'm new to gardening but wanted to try and work it out myself before asking!

The wall is the boundary of the local castle and runs the full length of our property, it was one of the reasons we chose this house as it provides so much privacy, expect a lot of questions about plants for shade though!

Dovefromabove · February 2015

I love plants for shade - we also have large trees and a high boundary - sadly it's a fence rather than an ancient stone wall.

How wonderful to live next door to a castle - if you want any digging done maybe you could get Time Team in

woodworm001 · February 2015

Edd - you might be right, it does look like the photos I've seen on the internet

Dovefromabove - it's more of an 'estate' than a castle with turrets but still very nice. Sadly no Time Team, just Most Haunted

Lion S · February 2015

Have a look at Cedrus deodara, Himalayan cedar. A lovely coniferous tree which does keep it's foliage throughout the year.

Dovefromabove · February 2015

My parents had a Cedrus deodara aurea in their last garden - they planted it when my daughter was born 37 years ago - it's a gorgeous and elegant tree - the space where it stands looks roughly the same size as that part of your garden (if that makes sense )

woodworm001 · February 2015

Wow, this is difficult, everytime I look up one of the suggestions I think "yes, that looks like my tree!"

Would more (or better) pictures help? It was already getting dark when I took those yesterday but I'm off tomorrow so will take more in daylight

Whatever it is, it is a beautiful tree!

nutcutlet · February 2015

The pruning advice is much the same whichever one it is.

You could take off some of the lower branches completely to raise the crown so you can plant under it, though I wouldn't, not much grows under a conifer. If it's blocking the drive you might need to though

But don't shorten any branches, you'll spoil it even if you don't kill it

woodworm001 · February 2015

Thanks Nutcutlet.

Although the pictures aren't clear, that is just a path and not the drive and as it is there is plenty of room to walk round it.

I thought about taking off some of the branches right at the bottom as at the moment this has been done on the lawn side, but not on the path side so from certain angles it looks uneven.

Dovefromabove · February 2015

I don't think un-even-ness matters on a tree like that which has a tendency to asymmetry anyway, it can even add to the effect if you increase the lop-sidedness just a little bit but if you want to lift the canopy a bit so you can plant underneath it that would be fine too.

Identify tree and pruning advice

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