Black Cherry Trees (Keep them or remove them) seeking opinions
I'm looking for opinions on whether or not I should remove 3 black cherry trees from my backyard (or some of the three).
They have been there since we moved in in 2006, and at one time there were five of them. We took down one that was about significantly taller and at least 3x the trunk diameter because the tree was 1/2 dead and the other tree was about the same size as the remaining trees but was leaning towards the house and had a lot dead limbs in it. We have noticed that these trees tend to break frequently and Cherry #3 in picture was heavily damaged in the 2014 winter storms we had here.
Here is my dilemma. I have planted some maple trees) over the years and I want to to think about how things will look down the road and not just today.
As you can see from the picture, my 10 year old autumn blaze is very large, but will continue to fill in that area. Red Maple #2 is still relatively small because it doesn't receive much sun, but it's from my dad's property and has some sentimental value, so I would like to keep that and give it some room for growth. It's about 25 feet from the sugar maple and Autumn Blaze maple. The Commemoration Sugar maple is really doing well an I know that will get quite large over time, and the other Red Maple on the right side of my yard is also taking shape very nicely and will continue to grow.
Every year it seems the cherry trees break apart or suffer dieback, so I am concerned about how they will do years from now if I leave them there. These are far enough away from the house that they are not causing any safety issues, other than being a branch dropping while being under them. I have a one year old now so that is a factor too.
Please let me know your thoughts/opinions on whether I should keep one or none of the cherry trees. I would rather remove them now, while they are easy to get to and easier to take down without damaging surrounding landscape and the yard. I really do enjoy them though and all of the wildlife they attract. :)
Thanks!
Steve
Comments (23)
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Need opinions.....and a lot of them!!!
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Comments (58)Don't get me wrong-I myself have long participated in reforesting of our city following the elm event. Of course there's still some great streets and neighborhoods-even whole communities. What I am saying though is that in the aggregate, summing the whole kit and kaboodle up, we have a lesser resource today than we did yesteryear. For one example, even in my city the forester or others like to tout the fact that each year, we plant more trees than we remove. Yes, of course we do, I say, but the new trees are almost all going into new streets, new subdivisions that didn't even exist back whenever the comparative year was. If one was to somehow mount a camera over a city, perfectly stationary, and take time-lapse photos of the older parts of town, they're in a shambles so far as tree cover compared to where they were years ago, before all the elms died, before all the big old silver maples started falling apart, etc. I'm sure it seems overly bleak how I worded that post, but I'm certain there's a kernel of truth to it, even as I and you folks and a bunch of others go on with our daily lives, much of which involves trees and other greenery. I'm not pointing my finger at anyone or anything...just telling it like it is, as I see it. And one other facet: The power companies, long having spent considerable dollars on line clearance, so we can all plug in our toasters, has finally prevailed on urban forestry managers all across the nation to plant little mini-trees under power lines. Now from that one single perspective, I get it. But from every other perspective, it's been a disaster for the look, feel, and design elements of our city streets. Does anyone really get anything from a street lined with 'Ivory Silk' tree lilacs, themselves spaced far and wide? They will never coalesce, they will never create a canopy, they will never do any of the key things I listed above that street trees can and should be doing. This as much as anything has diminished the value of our urban forests. I once put this idea down as one for further discussion at the arborist's meetings. Well-and this has happened a lot-they took me up on it and this subject was one of the main ones at the following year's conference. I didn't get to go to that one but from what I heard, there was much scowling and wailing and gnashing of teeth at this talk and the idea behind it. It was actively rejected by the majority of city foresters and others in attendance. That's how far things have fallen-we can't even talk about it!...See MoreDwarf pink weeping cherry - suggestions, opinions, warnings?
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years agolongtee81 (Zone 5a)
8 years agoedlincoln
8 years agoUser
8 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
arbordave (SE MI)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoscotjute Z8
8 years ago
bengz6westmd
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoI have one now 55' tall and intend to preserve it, but that's enough. No significant damage, but it's protected by an upwind sugar maple. Some of these trees can produce tasty fruit when they are VERY ripe, but mine usually doesn't. Below is the large one 11 yrs ago -- grown quite a bit since then:
Below are very strong-flavored black cherries from a small one at the woods edge:
wisconsitom
8 years agokitasei
8 years agoMike McGarvey
8 years agowisconsitom
8 years ago
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
8 years agolongtee81 (Zone 5a)
8 years agoThanks for all of the constructive comments. I have them scheduled for removal in about a week, but I am liking the idea of keeping #2 and am considering that option. If I keep this tree, I would would like to have some branches removed (those that are directly above where the maples will fill in in the next 10 years or so.
I am not looking for perfect specimen trees and like the them to look more natural (forest like) with higher branches, and without perfect symmetry.
I have marked up the branches that I would have removed (see those marked in red). The yellow represents the locations where the pruning cuts would be.My question is...... would this be too heavy of a removal all at once, and should I have these branches taken out over time? I would like to avoid sprouting, but I know that is a normal reaction (see tree #3 on far right from sever storm damage).
Thanks for the great suggestions!
User
8 years agoHuggorm
8 years agowisconsitom
8 years agoUser
8 years ago
NHBabs z4b-5a NH