I have two trees in front that were there from the previous owner.

I haven't been able to identify them but they have a small berry looking fruit. At one point I thought it was a type of crabapple tree. It has white flowers in the spring and has a lot of suckers at the base of the tree.

Most branches were completely snapped off. the other ones that didn't break completely and were hanging on the ground, I removed.

The tree on the left appears like it will be OK, will the one on the right look normal if I leave it alone? I think the upright leader(s) is/are completely gone at the top along with any of the branches off off that limb. Should I do any additional pruning or cut this tree down?

Let me know if you need additional info/pics:

Here are some before and after pics:

8/29/10:


April 2011:


10/30/11:


11/2/11:

Wait and see, that might recover. If you find that the leader is gone, it may go completely wild and out of shape. At that point, I'd remove it--but you won't know until next year.

kickflip wrote:I haven't been able to identify them but they have a small berry looking fruit. At one point I thought it was a type of crabapple tree. It has white flowers in the spring and has a lot of suckers at the base of the tree.

8/29/10:


April 2011:


10/30/11:


11/2/11:

Looks like a pear to me. Bradford pears have white flowers in the spring, non-edible green fruit about the size of crabapples and sucker terribly. They were very popular years ago and lots of people and municipalities planted them as street trees. They are still widely available and relatively cheap. Turns out the wood is VERY weak and trees tend to split at branch crotches easily. Because of this, other cultivars were introduced and the once sterile Bradford was able to cross-pollinate and has been spreading itself about along roadsides and other naturalized areas displacing native trees, shrubs and grasses. They are very pretty trees - cloud of white flowers in spring and red leaves in the fall, but better choices are available. The Maryland Invasive Species Council declared the Bradford Pear Invader of the Month in April 2007. Driving down the interstates in spring you see them everywhere around here. I'm not certain that's what you have, but here is a link if you want to know more Bradfords and compare pics to what you have Click here for more information

If it is a Bradford pear, dig it up and get rid of it. These are dangerous trees. We had one in our backyard when we moved here 15 years ago. It was about 50' tall. About 6 years ago my son was outside playing. He went over by the tree to pick up his basketball and heard a snapping sound and took off running and screaming. The tree split in half and fell right where he was standing. My neighbor came over to make sure we were ok and told me about the Bradford's. I took out the chain saw and dropped the tree right then. I have since watched other trees around here do the same thing. Do yourself a favor, get it id'd. If it's a Bradford, dig it up.