Can you tell me what tree this is?

[DeanBrown3D]

Here are 4 pics of the trees next to my house, red leaves and white flowers. THey are not rare species as far as I know, I just don't know what they are. I want to trim them down maybe by 1/3, and I want to know when to do this, before they go and get too big! I missed the flowers, but here are the fallen off ones.

Thanks

Dean

 

[Ax-man]

Your tree is a very healthy looking Purple Leaf Plum, your lucky to have such a big specimen. Normally around our area they get boring insects or bleeding canker diseases when they get half that size and go downhill.

I don't know why you want to prune a 1/3 of it, way to much in my opinion, especially with the leaves at almost full expansion. If you were perform this much surgery now, that is like a slow death sentence for that tree, at least in our area it would be, maybe your climate is a little milder than our is.

If your going to prune, do it during the dormant season, small increments of pruning with a goal in mind.

If that was my tree I would just let it go, keeping the roof clear of rubbing limbs and enough underclearance so I could walk under it and maybe tipping those few out of place small branches that stick out of the general outline of the crown.

What is so glandular about people always want to keep trees short??? I don't get it, this is a small ornamental species that couldn't possible be causing any problems.

 

[diltree]

I was gonna say Flowering Plum........but these guys beat me to the punch


www.dillontree.com

 

[Toddppm]

What is so glandular about people always want to keep trees short??? I don't get it, this is a small ornamental species that couldn't possible be causing any problems.

Just look at it! It's eating the house Pacman style! BTW we're missing that smilely!

 

[rebelman]

I love my purple plums. They're kind of a poor man's japanese maple. The fruit resembles a peach, though.

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Great! Thanks for the advice. So it won't get too big then, it will stay that size for the most part?

BTW no fruit on them yet, and I have been here for 18 months.

Ok, so what month do I trim this, if I do trim it? I am in NJ, USA. I read that some trees are pruned in the spring, others in the fall, but I have no idea what the general rule is (I'm a programmer, what ya expecting?! )

Last year they got COVERED with green caterpillars that lived in what looked like spiders web nests. Trees were half eaten, but I sprayed them and it was fine afterwards. There are a few now so I am going to spray again this weekend.

Thanks all,

Dean

 

[treeseer]

Dean you can spray if you want but the webworms can be controlled by just breaking up the webs and pulling/shaking them out of the tree.

I agree with Ax on the need to prune--dead and interfering branches only. Fine to do this after the leaves are fully formed.

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Ok great. Thanks.

Dean