Neighbour's Tree

Forever31

MysteryMe said:

As previously mentioned they have shallow roots which would not be spreading close to a property 10 meters away to cause subsidence.  They do grow quickly so need regular pruning to keep them in check. 100 meters is around a similar height as a 30 storey building.  If you have ever seen a tree in this country, never mind a suburban garden, that high it would be a very rare find indeed.

It's the roots affecting the foundations of the house that worries me.  The tree surgeon has said that it's not doing so at present, but it will do within 10 years.  So there is a breathing gap at present.

The tree surgeon did offer my neighbour to prune the tree, but my neighbour declined. 

So it will continue to grow until my neighbour decides he will do something with the tree, or he moves and the next person to own the house next door decides to do it.   It's also possible that it reaches the stage of the roots affecting the foundations of our houses if whoever lives next door doesn't bother to do anything.  

The tree surgeon did confirm that they can grow up to 100m if the conditions were right.  He felt they were right where it's currently located, and started to talk about another blue gum tree a few miles away that is very tall and very fat (with multiple trunks) growing in a much larger garden located sufficiently far away from buildings.  It is possible he said this to get the neighbour to prune the tree (and to earn some money).  But it could have been true too, and from what I can gather online, I suspect it is.

GDB2222

You may have misheard the tree surgeon. 

The tallest tree in the World is a Giant Sequoia of 84m. 

Forever31

GDB2222 said:

You may have misheard the tree surgeon. 

The tallest tree in the World is a Giant Sequoia of 84m. 

I've just googled this, and just landed on a site that says that the tallest tree species is a Coast Redwood at an average of 116 meters approx.

In eight place is the Blue Gum tree at 92 meters on average.

https://heightpedia.com/tallest-trees-in-the-world/

daivid

The tallest tree in the uk is 66m high. AFAIK all of the tallest trees in the uk are sequoia or spruce type trees growing in sheltered valleys. A eucalyptus in the UK is unlikely to get to more than 30m in ideal planting, which this doesn't sound like.

You need to get an opinion from a tree surgeon who can be trusted, as he is either scare mongering or clueless in saying that tree near you house has the right conditions to reach 100m. 

Forever31

daivid said:

The tallest tree in the uk is 66m high. AFAIK all of the tallest trees in the uk are sequoia or spruce type trees growing in sheltered valleys. A eucalyptus in the UK is unlikely to get to more than 30m in ideal planting, which this doesn't sound like.

You need to get an opinion from a tree surgeon who can be trusted, as he is either scare mongering or clueless in saying that tree near you house has the right conditions to reach 100m. 

I think the point that trees don't grow nearly as big in the UK is a good one.

My neighbour said that he saw two tree surgeons earlier in the day, and they were both just trying to say anything to get him to cut down his tree without really explaining if it was needed, or what other options there were.  The third one (who I also talked to), I think he wanted to coppice it, and was probably saying stuff to lead us to that point.  

I suppose finding a tree expert who doesn't have an angle is going to be as rare as hen's teeth

The wiki says that the Blue Gum tree grows to 45m (and 100m if the conditions are right),  So I suspect it will grow to roughly 40-45m.  Our houses are 9.5m away.  This still seems too large a tree for this distance where roots are concerned.

MysteryMe

The roots of eucalypts are shallow and they will not spread out anywhere near 10 meters so damage to house foundations is a non issue in your situation. What could be an issue is if the tree toppled over. They can get top heavy and because their root structure is not deeply embedded they become unstable. I have had eucalyptus trees and had them removed because they were blocking out light. 

I'm not convinced the people you and your neighbour are talking too are actual qualified tree surgeons, you get lots of leaflets from people claiming to do tree work. They are to be avoided.  

Petriix

At nearly 10m away you really don't have a lot to worry about. As this is a money saving website I'm going to suggest that you save your money and leave the tree as it is.

GDB2222

Forever31 said:

GDB2222 said:

You may have misheard the tree surgeon. 

The tallest tree in the World is a Giant Sequoia of 84m. 

I've just googled this, and just landed on a site that says that the tallest tree species is a Coast Redwood at an average of 116 meters approx.

In eight place is the Blue Gum tree at 92 meters on average.

https://heightpedia.com/tallest-trees-in-the-world/

Sorry, I found the biggest tree,  not the tallest. "By volume, it is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth.[1] It is estimated to be around 2,300 to 2,700 years old."

I meant this one, which is indeed 84m high:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Sherman_(tree)

Anyway, that tree is a few thousand years old. Even though eucalyptus are fast growing, you really don't need to worry about your neighbour's tree growing to the height of a tower block any time soon.

Section62

Forever31 said:

The tree surgeon pointed out that I have another potential tree big tree in a garden on the other side of my garden, which is a cedar tree.  At the moment, it's not too big.  But it's too close to my house at approx 13-15m if it continues to grow into a mature tree.
...

As for the cedar tree on the other side of my garden, I haven't spoken to the owner yet.  They may see sense and get it chopped down before it gets too big.

What kind of cedar is it?  Some species are valued for their rarity and as 'landmark' trees. Even if it doesn't have a TPO on it already, if it reaches a size where it poses a risk to your property the council may act swiftly if they get wind of plans to cut it down.

Forever31 said:

Atm, I am considering moving and if I do, tree worries will be over anyway.

I think that is what you should be focusing on first, not the neighbour's trees.  If you want to move and the trees aren't currently a problem then you can move without difficulty.

If you start premptive action with the trees, and the neighbours don't comply, then your sale will be complicated by the 'known' issues you have with the neighbour's trees and what you may need to declare to prospective purchasers.

If you've been given reassurance the trees are not currently a risk then you could, if necessary, convey that information to prospective purchasers.

Avoiding premptive action would - in my personal opinion - include not having discussions with your Legal Protection. Whether or not that is the right thing to do is your call though.


FWIW, I'm with the other posters in suspecting the people who've been out to look at the trees are not suitably professional in their assessments and sales techniques.  If you decided to take this forward you need advice from a qualified tree expert, not people who charge silly money to chop trees down.

Forever31

Section62 said:

Forever31 said:

The tree surgeon pointed out that I have another potential tree big tree in a garden on the other side of my garden, which is a cedar tree.  At the moment, it's not too big.  But it's too close to my house at approx 13-15m if it continues to grow into a mature tree.
...

As for the cedar tree on the other side of my garden, I haven't spoken to the owner yet.  They may see sense and get it chopped down before it gets too big.

What kind of cedar is it?  Some species are valued for their rarity and as 'landmark' trees. Even if it doesn't have a TPO on it already, if it reaches a size where it poses a risk to your property the council may act swiftly if they get wind of plans to cut it down.

Forever31 said:

Atm, I am considering moving and if I do, tree worries will be over anyway.

I think that is what you should be focusing on first, not the neighbour's trees.  If you want to move and the trees aren't currently a problem then you can move without difficulty.

If you start premptive action with the trees, and the neighbours don't comply, then your sale will be complicated by the 'known' issues you have with the neighbour's trees and what you may need to declare to prospective purchasers.

If you've been given reassurance the trees are not currently a risk then you could, if necessary, convey that information to prospective purchasers.

Avoiding premptive action would - in my personal opinion - include not having discussions with your Legal Protection. Whether or not that is the right thing to do is your call though.


FWIW, I'm with the other posters in suspecting the people who've been out to look at the trees are not suitably professional in their assessments and sales techniques.  If you decided to take this forward you need advice from a qualified tree expert, not people who charge silly money to chop trees down.

That's interesting about the TPO and types of cedar trees.   I can't get too close to next door neighbour's cedar tree from a phone app identifier point of view.  But the phone app thinks it's most likely a Cedar of the Himalaya (Cedrus Deodara) at 30%.  It does have longish weepy needles so it looks like it could be true.     

Atm, no one on my road has a tree with a TPO on it.

I am thinking of moving later this year/beginning of next year, and it now looks like the Blue Gum tree isn't a problem, and the Cedar tree is still pretty small.