Tree pruning advice for a complete novice!

So, we have just moved (third time in as many years) and the only thing that concerns me about the garden is the following;



The house was only built two years ago and for some unknown reason the landlady thought it would be nice to plant 6 trees in the garden I understand Cherry Tree's don't like windy conditions and shouldn't really be planted in turfed areas as they'll compete for the nutrients. Seeing as the sea is behind the evergreens you can see in the picture you can imagine how windy it gets and there's going to be no chance of me having a nice lawn with all these trees is there!?

So, as I'm obviously not allowed to remove them how would I go about keeping them as small as possible or, is that an impossible task?

 

Anyone

 

I don't know about cherry trees specifically, but the general rule of thumb (that I was taught at least) is that you generally prune trees from late autumn to late winter while they are dormant. As sap is not flowing then, they wont bleed to death or dehydrate from the open wounds you create by pruning, and as there are no fungal spores flying about then, there's less chance of disease getting in.

Those trees still look pretty young. I can't see them putting on much growth this year, so I'd just enjoy them for now.

If you do decide to prune them (when they are dormant) again I don't know the specifics for cherry trees but the general rule of thumb is to take out the lead shoot to inhibit vertical growth and encourage it to bush up, take out any branches that cross each other and so would rub against each other in the wind, and take out any shoots that are heading in the wrong direction (for the shape you want).

 

Cherry trees, both ornamental and for fruit should be pruned in summer June to August to lessen the chance of silverleaf. More info here http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=245
As they are growing in grass they will probably grow slowly anyway. Ornamental cherries tend to be rather small. They are fairly shallow rooting and one problem is that on older trees the roots can protrude above the soil.
Otherwise as clueless1 said.

 

You say it's a windy area and I'm surprised they are still standing. They are young trees and should have been staked when they were planted.