To be or not to be... an almond tree

[omly]

So in doing some research, it seems like one of the trees in the yard is a bitter almond. This has me thinking about if there is a good reason to save it or not. It has beautiful pink blossoms at the moment, but that is about all the pros I can think of. (Please help me think of any reasons I have overlooked!)

It is also a big tree taking up a lot of space and light in a very small yard that is already very full of trees. Among other things removing this tree means we could definitely have lilac.

Bitter almond has a lot more hydrocyanic acid than sweet almonds, so at least raw they are more dangerous. Just a few can be incredibly dangerous to small ones, which granted we don't have any at the moment. I am not super worried about random people coming in the yard to eat them though. You can use them if they are cooked, which decomposes the HCN, but they are not used to nearly the extent of sweet almonds. Have any of you worked with them?

In the fall the fruits are everywhere, and at least this past (very wet) summer the outsides went moldy right on the tree. This is mostly an issue as there are mold sensitivities in the house. Hard to say if this was a huge health factor, though as the weather in general made for a pretty miserable summer.

Comments

[plaid-slytherin.livejournal.com]

This is entirely unhelpful and largely irrelevant, but I assume you wouldn't recommend such a tree to someone looking at trees? I ask because my mother wants "a pink tree" so pink caught my eye here.

[omly.livejournal.com]

How big a tree is she looking for? A small decorative one or a large blooming one? I have several suggestions, but size is the first thing I would need to ask about.

Also I love this icon you are using.

[plaid-slytherin.livejournal.com]

Definitely large. There's a lot of space out there. I think I would put it in the spot where the vegetable garden used to be.

Thanks. I used it because it was tree-related. :D

[yuggoth.livejournal.com]

I am both small, and prone to wander in your yard eating things I find on the ground.

[mytheria.livejournal.com]

only use I can think of for them, is that they're the flavoring agent in modern maraschino cherries.