Flowering cherry

We have a flowering cherry tree in the front garden, which is about 30ft high, but only 15ft from the front of our bungalow.

Does anyone know what would happen to the tree if we reduced the height to, say, 15ft, or even 6ft?

Would it be better to remove it entirely, and plant a slow growing tree? It currently forms part of a hedge that is about 8ft high.

Many thanks

 

I don't think severe cutting back is recommended with cherry trees. They can be susceptible to some diseases and I've seen a few examples of trees that have not looked very healthy after being cut back. I've also seen some cherry trees producing healthy new growth from a stump. Summer pruning is recommended to avoid them getting silver leaf disease but whether or not it is better to remove or cut back would in my mind depend on the health of the tree and what else near to it would benefit from the space. Putting in a new tree in an existing hedge can be difficult as the new introduction will need to compete with existing strong roots of the other hedge plants.

Happy gardening!

 

I sometimes see them pollarded, but it really depends on how you feel about it. If it's part of teh hedge, that might work well enough.
As @Macraignil says though, this is the time to do any pruning, and it may not respond well to harsh pruning as it's obviously mature.
A specimen tree on it's own, away from the hedge, would be nicer if you decide to remove it, but you'd need to decide if there's a suitable amount of room. It sounds as if you don't really have a lot of space, but you could pick something shrubby instead, and prune to keep it more 'tree like' if you know what I mean. Many Philadelphus can be grown like that , for example, and some of the Sambucus varieties.

 

Thank you for your advice.

My wife prefers the "cut by half" option. It is too large to be so close to the house, in my opinion. Its trunk is totally enclosed by the hedge, up to the 8ft, hence the consideration of reducing to 6ft - the height I wish to reduce the hedge to.
However, if either option is likely to harm the tree, or make it look odd, then the best option may be to remove it entirely.
There is a covenant on all the properties in the area, that they are required to have at least one tree in the front garden. I don't want to remove ours entirely, without providing a replacement somewhere, but am aware that ours is too large.
Mind you, most of the homes here seem to have flouted the covenant, but just because they have, doesn't mean I follow suit.
Anyhow, I like trees.

But thank you again for your comments.

 

I should have added a photo.
Taken a few minutes ago.

 

And another view.

 

Another option to consider might be lifting the crown so that there's some clear trunk above the hedge, and the bulk of the foliage is higher up above your windows. Whether that's possible depends on what the trunk/branch structure is like though.

If you cut it back and the worst comes to the worst and it dies, you'll just have a tree stump/trunk hidden inside the hedge. Maybe you could clear a space in the gravelled area to plant a small, light-canopied tree or airy open type of shrub. I can't quite see what the diagonal path (?) is made of or where it leads, but perhaps that could come out if it's where you would want to plant.

 

Thank you @JennyJB
The diagonal path, which leads from the front door to the pedestrian gate (which I don't use often - only to take the rubbish out, because I don't want to scratch the car). It is block paving, and a nuisance to clear of weeds, but I have the time.
The gravelled area has a membrane under, but it all used to be grassed - we have photos from 18 years ago. With the tree, and a high hedge, it doesn't get a huge amount of sun.

We've been here only 8 months, and I don't want to get a reputation for removing trees. I'd rather plant stuff. But some just have seen better days, while others have become unwieldy.

 

I'd be inclined to have it taken right out @RowlandsCastle . In my experience, flowering cherries can put on a lot of growth (3ft or more) in a season and will usually resprout from a cut down trunk. That means it's an annual job to keep them at a sensible height, a job that gets harder as you get older.

Alternatively you could just have it cut down to the height of the existing hedge so it then becomes part of it.

The owner before us had planted 12 cherries, only a foot apart up against a retaining wall. in the back garden. After ten years of trying to keep them under control, we had alternate ones removed. Some then got silver leaf disease and we're now left with just 3 which is more manageable. I need to cut the tops off soon to keep it more like a hedge, i.e. reachable with a long handled pruner.

 

The older I get the more my approach seems to change to where I'd rather just put something in that will be better than constantly have to fight with something I don't really want. If you look at it in a similar way you have to weigh up adding a new tree that will need to establish but might not ever need to be touched, against an old tree that you could reduce in height and then constantly have to keep pruning, which might grow out ugly again.

I had the same scenario with eucalyptus, which I really loved, but they grew so fast and if you didn't tackle them regularly (I pollarded them) they would get a little out of control. They also had an ugly stage after being pollarded and because they grew so fast it needed to be done every couple of years. I have now removed them completely but am starting again with a new dwarf species that should only grow to 12ft of so, so no future faffing hopefully.

 

Thank you, @Thevictorian
I'm being more drawn to the "cut down entirely, and replace" option. Cheaper in the long run, easier to maintain.
My problem is trying to persuade my wife, that it's the best way, especially as she enjoyed the cherry blossom so much this spring.
Also, having removed three trees already, with at least another two others to go in addition to the cherry, I'm feeling that I'm not helping the environment.

 

To me looking at the photos it seems that this cherry tree is too big for where it is planted. In that space maybe something like Fuji cherry variety Kojo-no-mai might be more suitable.

Happy gardening.

 

Thank you for the recommendation @Macraignil

I'll certainly look into this. Given that it'll be cheaper and easier to maintain, than trying to reduce the present tree by 50% each year. ​

 

We planted an Amanogowa in a previous garden and it grew to be enormous. Had to be removed in the end and we really missed the blossom but realised that 3 or 4 weeks (if lucky) of blossom wasn't enough to compensate for the rather boring foliage the rest of the season. Did miss the winter skeleton though!

 

Having seen the photo now, I'm inclined to agree that it would be better to remove it rather than trying to constantly maintain it. Either replace it with something else more suitable, or leave the stump to form part of the hedge - maybe putting a different specimen somewhere else if possible, as it could be difficult to get a decent space prepped in the existing site.
As to the environment - your garden has to suit you, and it doesn't help the environment if plants/shrubs/trees aren't healthy, or aren't doing a good job, so don't feel guilty about it. As gardeners, we help in various ways, and what you replace those trees with, or do anywhere else in your plot, could be a far bigger benefit than what was there before.