Pyracantha 'tree'

Hi all,

Bit of a problem with our Pyracantha which is 20 years old and about 10ft high with an 8ft diameter crown, shaped more like a pleached tree than a bush.

While it sounds overgrown its doing a fine job of privacy screening up against the far bottom corner of our garage.

It basically has three main trunks about 150mm diameter and they were roughly going straight up alongside the corner of the garage held in place by some strong rope.

However over this winter with the winds and weight of the top growth the whole plant is leaning about 2ft from the garage so we need to pull it back up.

There is no way even a couple of folk can manually push the trunks because of the weight and the vicious spines.

We need something to really pull and hold the trunks back in to position and then reattach some ropes or chains.

Any suggestions what device would be suited to this task ?

Thinking of something like this pull wrench, attaching it and then the ropes/chain to some heavy duty wall anchor eye bolts, eg m8 m10 or m12

The garage and base are concrete blocks and very solid, though we will be giving the Pyracantha a bit of a haircut to reduce the top growth /weight.

Any thoughts if there is a better way ?

 

Hi ricky ive used one of them for pulling trees out, works a treat but you need something solid to fix it too,

I cant see the job in hand but you need to be very careful using eye bolts/anything else in the concrete blocks, if they come out under tension they will hit you and could even kill, don't you have a bigger tree near by that you could attach it too.

 

Unsure if your car has a toe bar and you can get it up close, when i removed the privet from the front of my house i attached it to the toe bar and my wife sat with her foot on the break.

 

Hi Martin,

Thanks, not something we have used before, looks like we chose the right tool for a change

Good point about the car, but the way things are located we cannot get a clean line for the cable and nothing else solid enough, only a small garden, no other trees etc.

The concrete blocks are the old fashioned really heavy weight type not the aerated ones and the plug will be at right angles to the wire, but still take your point about them flying out.

Will do what we did when we needed an anchor for some house roof safety lines some years ago, use a length of 50mm angle iron with several bolts over more than one block and hook onto that.

So if you see an oap flying over head you will know the fixing didn't hold !

 

Good luck with it ricky but please be very careful, another way and safer would be to get a landscaping sleeper Landscaping Railway Sleepers Wooden Sleepers 100x200mm Bf024 | eBay at an angle and a car jack obviously you would need some sort paving slab to stop it sinking and something on the tree to protect it and stop the jack slipping something like this would do it 400kg 4mtr S Hook Cargo Lorry Ratchet Lashing Tie Down Restraint Straps | eBay with a block of wood strap the wood to the tree.

 

Something like this ricky,

Red Sleeper
Yellow Jack
White Block of wood
Blue strap to hold the block of wood

 

Hi Martin,

Thanks again , was wondering what to use around the trunk, seems those straps are ideal.

Got them and the winch ordered so should be here next week and will hopefully get things straightened up

Did think about cutting it down, but its a horrible plant to handle with those evil thorns, but would need to do a lot of modifications to the fencing etc to get any similar screening effect and folk can complain about a too high fence but not a bush.

Just having to keep an eye on the heated propagator in the greenhouse, that bit of sun yesterday sent it up to 38c, even though the stat cuts off at 20c.

 

Hi ricky, I cant stress enough make sure you have a good fixing and keep your back to it preferably crouched over so it hits you in the bum if it does come out ,

Im just going to put some seeds in the greenhouse ive been out over to Tickhill Google Image Result for https://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/42179363.jpg theirs a big garden center there called cherry lane, ive picked some flower seeds up,

Its a lovely village some old medieval buildings still standing including a castle, well worth popping in if your ever passing,

Please keep us informed and once again be careful my friend .

 

Hi Martin,

Not a garden centre we have been to, but will take a look when down that way.

Used to mainly take my old mother around the garden places more over Chesterfield way, partic the 3 in and around Coal Aston.
Don't think the Dobbies new one wasn't built when she was still alive, have visited it just once, everything seemed so expensive.

My favourite in recent years is the Gordon Rigg garden centre just outside Todmorden if you ever get over that way, much more plant orientated.

Popped in to one of our biggest localish ones yesterday, Tong Garden Centre betwix Leeds/Bradford and its large indoor area was 90% furniture and home goods, more like Cole bros/ John Lewis !

 

@ricky101 You could do with a couple of these mate and some good rope even though they're unavailable

Mind you Ironbridge museum may be able to help

 

Hi ricky, this is the one i was referring to Home Furnishings - Cherry Lane Garden Centre
Ive not been to the Coal Aston one and its only 4/5 miles away from my home as the crow fly's i keep meaning to pop in i will have to pop over this year,

I call to Dobbies at Barlborough i presume this is the one your referring to its about a 15 minute drive for me Dobbies Directions

I will make a note of Gordon Rigg and call in if i am ever passing that way, Cherry lane sounds the same as Tong Garden Centre betwix with furniture etc but they do have a large selection of plants.

 

@Gail_68 that beastie can stay in my garage anytime, beautiful creatures, plus an inbuilt manure factory!

 

@martin-f thanks, did find the Cherry Tree website earlier.

Looks like there are still 3 centres in Coal Aston, 2 in the centre and Wards on the road out.

If you do ever go over the M62 G Riggs are about 20 mins down the old roads in Walsden, not to be mistaken for their smaller Rochdale branch.

Walsden is bigger and they even grow and pot on their own seasonal plants in large heated benches and a very good indoor plant sections with massive benches of spring time annuals and toms etc, you can easily come out with a van load the prices are so good !




Where it says Great Britain, it should read Todmorden on the Y junction

 

My hubby took me to Ironbridge last year nice day out and the bloke was talking about them and I did a video on it at the same time...beautiful strong horses