Neighbour and fruit tree

Not_Me

Unsure where else I could post this but thought someone may know or have an opinion.

A bit of history first, social housing property, lived here a long time and so has the neighbour. approx 10 years ago i wanted a fruit tree and being a small garden the ideal spot would be near the fence so it was likely to overhang their garden.

I asked them if i could plant a tree there and explained it would overhang the fence and that they could help themselves to any fruit they could reach. They said no problem and there have been no issues since. Until today when he aggressively told me i had to move the tree NOW!
I said i cannot move it now, and he knows i have recently been in hospital so cannot do it myself and do not have the finds to pay someone.

The only family member who can move it is too busy for such a job until the winter comes and his workload eases.

I always knew he could trim it back on his side and have no issues whatsoever with anything like that. I will even accept the cuttings back because we have several large compost bins.

Its just the aggressive nature of move the tree now and nothing else.

Opinions? Is there a better section for this?

Thank You

Mojisola

Not_Me wrote: »

They said no problem and there have been no issues since. Until today when he aggressively told me i had to move the tree NOW!

I said i cannot move it now, and he knows i have recently been in hospital so cannot do it myself and do not have the finds to pay someone.

I always knew he could trim it back on his side and have no issues whatsoever with anything like that.

He can't make you move plants around in your garden. Even if he could, it's completely the wrong time to move a tree.

Get a friend or relative in to cut back anything that is growing over the boundary - if you let him do it, he may deliberately damage the tree.

If you want to move the tree to avoid further problems, do it over the winter.

Not_Me

I have a feeling that he has complained to the housing, is there anything they can do to make me move it now?
Can they insist on it being moved? I can prove he agreed to let me plant the tree there and its been there for 10 years with no prior issues.

Its only a small tree also. I made sure of that. They said 16ft max if you never prune it. And there should be no issues with keeping it around 10/12ft high.

Fruittea

Hi Not Me - you don't say what the issue might be and what the fruit is. Is the tree blocking light from the house and making his living space dark. That would depend how far from the house the tree is and not just the height of the tree. I know some local authorities don't like fruiting trees on the pavements as they can cause a mess and a slip hazard. Sounds silly I know but people complain.
I see no reason why they should take the complaint seriously unless the tree has not been pruned and is growing densely enough to obscure his light or that a great big apple has hit him on the head!
Seriously though I agree with Mojisola it's the wrong time to prune or move a tree. I would politely say you will be pruning it as soon as the autumn comes and make sure you prune it so that it doesn't effect his space - even if it means the tree is a little misshapen.
Good luck.

Not_Me

His kid ate an apple that had fallen. Never been an issue with the 2 older children he has.

No issues with light or space or anything else. Its a small tree, approx 12ft tall. And yes i pruned it back during the winter so nothing overhung the fence but its a tree that does what it wants. The more i trim it his side the more it appears to grow.
I think he is using it as an excuse to get them to offer him a bigger house.

If he had said no in the first place i would not have put it there. i thought i was being a nice neighbour and they may appreciate some free apples.

I_have_spoken

Had he been drinking?

Not_Me

No but he has turned from the noisy neighbour to everyone else on the street must take a vow of silence, all since he had kids.
He even went out to the neighbours over the road tell them not to talk on their doorstep.

The worm has turned it seems. What puzzles me is why its never been an issue in the past? It must have fruited every year for at least 8 years.

Maybe an excuse to get a bigger house? Can the housing make me move it though?

Thank You.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd ignore him in your position.

You were nice enough to consult with him back originally when you put the tree in and he was fine about it then. It's only a small tree. You told him he could keep the fruit "his side".

He's just acting up and it sounds like he's doing so generally in the area (ie if he's even complaining about people literally talking on their doorstep).

As you've even got the proof that he agreed to the tree in the first place - then just carry on as per normal and leave the tree exactly where it is.

You obviously can't prevent him trimming his side back to the fence if he has a mind to do so - but there's nothing else he could do.

I'm puzzled myself as to why he's acting up like this after all this time and presume it must be because of something going on in his own life and he is going round having a go at other people because of it.

So - just ignore him.

Not_Me

I will try and get the tree moved during the winter, be a shame to waste all that fruit, im sure the other neighbours wont mind a free bag of apples.

As you may gather i have done my best to be a good neighbour, asked them first, explained anything on their side or anything they can reach basically is theirs. I grow stuff for the enjoyment, the rewards are a bonus. I know they are allowed to trim them and would accept the cuttings back. I would offer bags and even the loppers if he was not so aggressive with this.

Possibly a stressful family life, i have heard some awful raised voices over the past couple of years. A friend visiting said if it were their neighbour they would be calling child services or whatever its called.

Thank you all, i will be ignoring him until i can sort out moving the tree to a suitable spot. A quick search seems to say apple trees are not rooted too deep and should survive replanting. Am i right in that?

Thank you.

moneyistooshorttomention

I don't know the answer to how well your tree would survive re-planting.

But I do wonder whether this wouldnt actually solve the problem if you do so. Reason being that you would have taken away his current excuse for "having a go" at you - but he might be determined to "vent" some way or another and just dream up another excuse to have a go at you instead iyswim and you've still got aggro being thrown at you that you don't deserve.

You'd only know for certain if this is some sort of "control" thing he has going on - ie he feels he has to have "someone" under his control and you're it - if you deal with this and he changes his complaint to be about something else and you change that and he then moves on to complain about a 3rd thing and so on. He could put you in a position where you change quite a few things to "keep the peace" and he is still complaining....

bouicca21

I don't often agree with Money but on this one I do. On the basis of your description the tree is doing no harm. It's on your land. He's not been upset before. Leave it be. If the complaint is triggered by something else going on in his life, then moving the tree is unlikely to be the answer to the problem.