Trees...advice needed

[WibbleWobble]

We have a lovely ornamental cherry in our back garden. It provides some much needed shade BUT the "cherries" need to picked up before LOs get hold. OH spent last weekend stripping the poor tree of all its remaining cherries. We need to chop it down before next year and replace it with something more suitable. Child friendly and not too big is the requirements


help!

mandy xxx

[jumpinjen]

That seems such a shame when it is an established and beautiful tree that helps children to follow the seasons..... have you considered netting the tree during cherry fall season, if you use fine horticultural netting you can catch all the cherries then take it off again after. Well established saplings are VERY expensive and would still take ten years to become big enough to provide shade and sheleter like your cherry does! Also ground rules for not putting them in their mouths? Why can't they pick them up and play with them or help you sweep them every day as a routine?

jenni

[AliceK]

I must admit in a situation like this whereby the fruit isn't toxic I would rather teach the children that they don't put them in their mouth. After all they have to learn that they can't just pick up anything and eat it without checking with an adult first. IF they DO eat one it wont taste nice but it won't poison anyone.

xxxxxx

[sweets]

oh no dont chop it down

just risk assess it and sweep up during the day, even better as someone else suggested get the children to do it, you can get some lovely child sized brushes., if the children are old enough to play out un supervised they are old enough to be taught not to eat plants etc and if they are only little then you would be out watching them anyway.

[ourmadhouse]

make a compost for all the cherrys that fall and get the lo's to put them in, i do this with the apple and pear tree's in my garden . . . although if they cant find any on the floor they have started to try and pick them off the tree's now

[merry]

I have a big cherry tree in my garden and we've had masses of fruit on it this year, all mindees have been given bags of cherries to take home. They love watching them grow, deciding if they're ripe enough to eat yet, watching the birds and squirrels eating them. Yes we've had an awful lot fall, and the wildlife do leave the stones everywhere, but as they're not harmful I've taken the line of teaching the children not to put things off the ground in their mouth.

[miffy]

You can't remove everything that might be a danger to children - like the others have said teach them instead not to put the fallen fruit or stones in their mouth.

The tree must provide more shade/shelter/pleasure/education than danger so risk assess and leave it be (please)

Miffy xx