Photo Description
Top Left: Tree unbalanced. Left side producing little. Right side producing well.
Top Right: Shown from opposite side. Full limbs visible without flowering.
Bottom left: Close up of the left side of the tree. Several branches not flowering down full length.
Bottom right: Closer view of the graft and up.
Please do ask for any more clarifying photos if you think it would help.
Questions:
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The tree just started blooming this week. Is it too late to start pruning or should I wait until Autumn?
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Pruning the tree is going to make it even more lopsided than it already is. Would you all recommend trimming back the healthy branches so it’s not so heavy on one side?
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This website gives the advice below. Any thoughts otherwise?
Thank you all so much!
How to Prune a Weeping Cherry Tree
The different types of weeping cherries can grow to between eight and 40 feet tall. Proper pruning keeps these trees looking beautiful and can prevent the development and spread of diseases. Prune while the tree is dormant (no flowers or leaves on the branches) in early spring or late fall. Take the following steps once a year with bypass pruning shears or a pole pruner.
- Cut back any branches that contact the ground until they’re at least six inches off the ground.
- Remove branches that are rubbing against each other.
- Trim back branches that are closer than two inches apart.
- Remove dead branches.
- Remove stems or branches growing out of the trunk or around the base of the tree (a.k.a. suckers).
- Trim back the tips of the branches around the perimeter of the canopy until it’s a balanced, uniform shape.
- Remove branches that are growing straight up on grafted cherry trees because they will continue to grow upward instead of weeping down.
- Thin out the mangled cluster of branches that often develops near the base of the canopy of grafted trees.
- Remove diseased branches as soon as they’re discovered, regardless of the time of year. Sterilize the blade of your cutting tool in between cuts to prevent disease spread.
Probably fine to prune as long as you are conservative about how much you remove. Pruning while the tree is actively growing can increase the risk of reactionary growth caused by removing too much. But in general with a light touch it’s usually OK to prune at any time of year.
I wouldn’t try to balance the tree by removing more than necessary unless you have some reason to think it’s unstable. For a small tree like this, the weight difference probably won’t be that significant.
If you are worried about it, you could leave some lower-priority pruning cuts for next year. Pruning is a process, it doesn’t need to happen all at once unless there is an issue of health or safety.
Thank you so much for your response! Based on your light touch description, now is probably not the time to prune the dead branches from the more bare side. I agree that the tree doesn’t seem unbalanced, albeit the trunk isn’t entirely vertical and leans a bit towards the fuller side. I agree that it’s lack of density isn’t likely the cause or an issue.
The bareness of one side is curious to me. I wish I could contact the previous owner. I also wonder if the magnolia tree, offset about 40ft/12m, has a part in that. It’s about 45ft/13.75m tall itself. The magnolia is far off enough so as to not shade the weeping cherry at all, but perhaps the resource competition could be an issue?
What time of year do you recommend pruning of dead branches?
I don’t suppose you know of any magic that will coax the sparse side to start produce more?
Regarding what I said, I was referring to live tissue. The rule of thumb is to remove no more than 25% of living branches in any one season but for reasons already mentioned I would do less that that. However, dead branches are not counted and can be removed at any time. This is probably advisable because they could be harboring diseases or fungi. That said, if there are a lot of them and removing them will expose the trunk to a lot of extra sunlight there may be extra steps needed to protect the bark, particularly if you are in a hot climate.
I doubt the magnolia is having much effect on the asymmetry here. Usually you only see that in cases of shading or direct physical contact. It’s probably some other health issue. Could be a disease. Prunus in general are fairly short lived and disease prone but I’m not familiar with this particular species/cultivar.
The first step is to ensure the tree is getting the proper care. Fertilizer isn’t usually needed unless there are signs of nutrient deficiency but a thin layer of compost spread on the surface of the soil can alleviate any concern you may have and improve the soil quality overall. Then add a thicker layer of mulch (about 4 inches deep, wood chips are best) to cover the root area, at least out to the tips of the branches but avoiding direct contact with the trunk.
Check on the soil moisture regularly and irrigate deeply when the surface becomes dry (usually not necessary until summer). As above you want to irrigate the entire root zone, particularly towards the outer edge and avoid the area immediately around the trunk.
I would also look for any extension or other local resources to see if there are any common diseases of this tree in your area, then watch for symptoms during the growing season. If so, they may or may not require a specific intervention. But identifying them is the first step.
Regarding the lean, I would also tug and push on the base of the trunk a bit to see how firmly attached it is to the ground. A well anchored tree may flex a bit but will not shift in relation to the ground.If it’s not well anchored, this may indicate a soil or root issue.
great tip. thank you!
I suppose it depends on what you mean by “hot.” The worst it gets is perhaps 34 C / 93 F.
great great idea.
Thank you for everything else. I feel like I have a lot to work with now.