I think that the technical term for that is 'basal cut'!

Good move in keeping that spruce...at least I hope you do!

Glad to see you got rid of a 'Junk' tree. Nothing but trouble, and they're everywhere! Your's was one of the better looking ones too.
Around here, I think it's the most pruned tree we have and the more it's pruned, the more you have to. The leaves always look a little worse for wear by the middle of summer and not much for Fall color.
Good move!
Mike

Beautiful view now Ken. I'd try to keep the Spruce too if it's not in the way of the whole view you were hoping for. It's a gorgeous setting now with the others gone.
Cher

...with malice aforethought.

It needed doing. Nicely done.

tj

...with malice aforethought.

===>>> OMG.. you stole my line.. you got you some legal training there??? being a junkie and all .. lol ...

REDRUM!!!!!

basil cut cracked me up too ...

ken

My husband is always reluctant to take out any tree that to him is 'mature', regardless of its location, form, etc etc. The arborist and I long ago decided to term those situations as requiring 'basal cuts'. Since it was technical advice from an expert, he deemed it appropriate to follow. Only when the tree was down did he realize what he had agreed to!

At least you had good intention pairing up the purple with the blue.

I knew before I even clicked on the thread... :)

At least your chainsaw fever is under control....so far.
Now you have a lot of brush to burn. Fun!
Mike

bump

lol .. bump again

Where will the pear slugs go now?

+oM

It was such a pretty tree!!! I just planted one.

Did you by chance plant a callery in its place? lol

NO I DIDNT YOU INVASIVE WEED FREAK ... LOL ..

BTW ... i thought of you.. when i bumped this up ... lol

KEN

Excellent tutorial! Now if only I were permitted to have sharp implements. Lol.

I never see them down here anymore, they're not even sold at the big box stores anymore. When I was a kid in the 80's there was a very nice one in my grandparent's yard, but it was covered with black knot and finally died. It was growing alongside native Chickasaw plums and the fruit actually looked and tasted similar. The Chickasaws eventually died as well.

they dont bear fruit up here in MI ...

in fact.. the one i had at the old house ... gave plums only one year in 10 ... and promptly died later that summer ...

probably an issue of flower buds dying during winter ...

ken

bumping this one up

ken

bumping again

They don't have leaves in summer here because Japanese beetles seem to prefer them.

Is this getting bumped to discourage people for planting them and/or encourage those to cut these things down?

A house a few down has one in the front yard and I just want to cut it down like you wouldn't believe. Never understood why people keep such crappy looking trees in their front yard.

hey will ...

first. because the purple plants were all the rage back in the 60s and 70s in my suburbia ... and old habits are hard to break ...

my point with the post.. is to not waste one minute tree hugging and weeping ... on a plant that is not worth saving ...

GET RID OF IT ...

i personally dont care if you replant another ... and when it goes to carp in 15 years.. give or take... repeat process ...

been wondering how your beds have been maturing will ... care to give us some overviews .. or even better.. before and afters???

in your own post of course ...

ken

bump again .. ken

They are such beautiful trees until they contract the diseases. This is why I do not recommend planting them. You really should plant a callery pear in it's place so you can show tlbean how to prune it LOL!

lol

The undesirability of purple leaved plums is, as with many other plants, dependent on where you are growing them. They are trouble free and healthy ornamentals in some climates. Here they provide some of the earliest spring blossom, long before the cherries and crab apples and then provide blemish free purple foliage throughout the summer. I've just found a seedling on my allotment from the towering specimen in a neighbouring garden. I was interested to find a babe with dark purple foliage as I suspected they would more likely be green. I'm deciding where to transplant it to.