Monday, May 11, 2009

Pruning Procrastination Produces Petal Problem

We really need to have our flowering cherry tree (prunus serrulata) pruned. It's taking over the front yard! Usually during the first week of May we get a pretty proliferation of pink petals...









Since it rained all last week, the petals are especially sticky and mushy. They've been tracked in and they're all over the house.





My office looks out into the front yard, and all day I see petals drifting down. It's calming. The kids like to shake the tree and pretend it's pink snow.



I usually rake up the petals and compost them.



If you're local, and want some petals for your compost, I'm happy to share!

And if you're a procrastinator, about pruning or anything else, you don't want to miss this blog.

13 comments:

tina said...

Wow! What a problem to have! It is so beautiful I think I'd overlook those petals for a bit:)

Anonymous said...

I was wondering where all those Cherry Blossoms in my car came from!

Frances said...

Hi Jen, beautiful but I know exactly what you mean. Wet leaves and petals stick to the bottoms of shoes and turn our houses into compost too. HA I don't mind plant debris in the house, there is already cat hair and human hair, let's get the greens and browns to make a good balance. :-)
Frances

Joanne said...

What a little view of heaven, looking out your house windows. So pretty!

Louise @ Buddy Garden said...

It's beautiful and pink snow sounds terrific!

Avid Reader said...

yes it's a pretty problem. Did Sweet Beasty from Pike eat any? My problem is leaves, and the cats eating them then gagging. nice. I thought my spirea had already bloomed so I pruned one side of it. A week later it bloomed except for the swath I pruned. heh.

spookydragonfly said...

Pink rain petals! Your children have the right idea...may be messy, but, ahhh...so very soothing to look at! Beautiful shots!

Squirrel said...

Like having pink carpeting.

My Veggie Garden said...

I'm with tina, what a beautiful problem to have.
Cheers

Karen said...

I grew up making pink snow in my family's cherry trees, then had one in my previous garden, a real beauty but I agree on the ick factor once they are tracked in, wet and rotting. If yours is an oldie but goodie and you can afford an arborist, have them check it while they're pruning for disease and pests. Cherries seem to host a lot of those, but maybe you are lucky and it is evading the baddies! This is a really special tree, thanks for showing it to us.

Blossom said...

Yes, I love those blossoms. They are pretty! I'd love to have them around. Any aroma?

Anonymous said...

Gosh, they are really pretty though. Too bad they are everywhere or how awesome they are everywhere. It's very big and healthy. You do have to get before and afters if you do prune.

Brigit said...

What an amazingly beautiful tree. Shoes off at the front door I say.