Question
Hello. I was wondering if you knew anything about cherry blossom trees.  There are 2 located on each side of my front walkway.  This is a new home, and I have never worked with these type of trees before.  They are about 8 years old, in good shape, but the branches are growing over top the walkway and need to be pruned.  How do I do this, do I cut straight or slanted, and how much should I remove.  Also, do I cut just below where there is a shoot?
Thankyou
Monica

Answer
Monica,

Cherry trees are one of the easiest trees to prune. They grow so rapidly in the spring that any mistakes you make will be replaced.

I would recommend not pruning until after the cherries have finished blooming to ensure that the trees blooms this year. I would make the exception for clearance pruning for the walkway.

For proper pruning techniques, I would recommend going to http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/pruning_young.aspx This is on the ISA website and is one of the best instructional sheets on pruning that I am aware of.

Good luck.
Ed Gulliksen