Hi All, I live in a townhouse complex and we have what I understand to be ornamental cherry trees planted throughout. Many of them are planted in very small plots of land such as in between driveways. We recently had an arborist come to have a look at some landscaping and he advised these trees would destroy our driveways with their roots. However he could not provide the exact type of tree beyond saying it was some sort of 'ornamental cherry'. I just want to do my due diligence and ensure I'm getting correct information. If you could help identify these I would greatly appreciate it. Any additional advice would also be greatly helpful :) Cheers, Matt
Someone might know it from a photo of the bud, but if you wait a week or two and photograph the flowers that will be more definitive. Photograph the inside of the flower and the back of the flower.
Thanks Daniel, I will follow up once it blooms with additional photos as you've suggested. I didn't realize how tricky these identifications were until I started looking online. My google research has led me to a Kwanzan cherry.
'Kanzan' (our spelling) is likely, but there are at least a couple of others in the running, as Daniel said. We await blossom photos! The root situation depends what it has been grafted onto. Is there some way to find out where they were obtained and what rootstock was used? (question for others: Is that something an arborist would know by just looking?)
Thanks Wendy, that's something I hadn't considered. I will try to find out from the developer regarding the rootstock and where these came from, not holding my breath though but worth a shot. There are many of what appear to be the exact same variety planted here (I think ~140) although so far very few of the ones planted in-between driveways have surface roots visible. However those planted along the common road in the complex do have roots that have surfaced. The arborist was using those surface roots in particular to paint a picture of destruction.
yes - agree with commenter above re: what root stock. Now that's a puzzle unless you send it off for some DNA. I recently had a certified arborist at a property here in Greater Vancouver - and in some ways, I knew more than the arborist (blooming on old vs new wood etc - what the old plants are: quince, lilac, etc.) I thought the arborist to be very textbook and more interested in the fossil fuelled equipment rather than the plants. I think that most trees will eventually make bumpy pavement, over time - after all, the humans are the pavers - the trees just grow. what is the time frame? I'd look at that. i hope that if your strata chooses to remove the trees, they go to a good home - there are people who will possibly pay or at the least, adopt.
The developer provided the name of the Nursery so I contacted them and they confirmed they're Kanzan. They said the trees likely will cause damage after 10+ years if a root barrier was not installed (I'm certain those were not installed). So I guess next up is determining whether a root barrier can be installed and what's involved. Thanks again for your help. I'll still follow up and post the photos of the flowers once they bloom.
The common basis for difficulty is the nuisance roots produced by sweet cherry root-stocks. Other root-stocks are also in use, the outcome here depends entirely on which was used in this instance.
i am curious about a "root barrier" - what is it? I am not in a sidewalk neighborhood - so I don't notice the street trees (ours are wild) tho I do know how the sidewalks downtown and other spots around old Vancouver can be upheaved.
