Good morning!

We've recently moved into a new home, and we have four of a particular tree in our garden; one down in the middle of the garden, and three rather two close along the side of the house (1-1.4m away). They're all between 6 and 8 metres tall, and I need to cut the side trees back heavily for scaffold access - possibly down due to the proximity, but I am undecided.

Regardless, I have no clue as to the species of tree; on-line comparisons varied between hornbeam and wild/bird cherry. The bark seems more like a cherry, but there are no fruits on these trees - not that I can see. I'd love a hand. :)

Grenage. Can you give us a rough idea of where in the world the tree is located, even if just the country, state, or province? It helps narrow down the possibilities unless someone recognizes it regardless.

Sorry, I really should have put that in the OP.

I'm in Hampshire, SE England, UK.

I wondered if you were from the house style in the background You can add your location to your profile then it will show up automatically in anything you post (if you want it to, of course). I'm a bit rusty on UK plants - I actually used to live in Hampshire. Hopefully someone will recognize it.

Cheers! I've done so with my profile.

It does look like Prunus of some kind. They may be an ornamental variety that don't get fruit. We may have to wait for flowers next spring.

Hi Zencat;

Oh well, worst case scenario, we'll get to find out in a few months!

My first thought was Prunus also ... reminded me of the Prunus serotina that grew at our old house. For comparison check out images of Sloe (Prunus spinosa) which grows in the UK. This page shows close up photos of the leaves, fruit and bark: http://www.woodlandtrust.org.u...

The bark example on that link is very similar to our trees (and some cherries); I didn't realise how many native trees we had until today.