Tree Advice

westy23

any tree experts on here?
I have a large leafed lime tree aprrox 5 mtrs from my property,
was just wondering if it could possibly create subsidence problems now or
in the future.
if so what would be my best course of action? removal or regular pruning.
also does regular pruning suppress the overall growth of the tree and roots?
thanks

don_ky01

westy23 wrote: »

any tree experts on here?
I have a large leafed lime tree aprrox 5 mtrs from my property,
was just wondering if it could possibly create subsidence problems now or
in the future.
if so what would be my best course of action? removal or regular pruning.
also does regular pruning suppress the overall growth of the tree and roots?
thanks

Tesco have petrol chain saws for £60 & B&Q have root killer for £5, length of rope £5
Total answer £70
Offset by the free fire wood

Thats the answer :j

ukwoody

You need to be very careful before cutting a lime tree down as many are protected. There are guidelines as to how close a lime tree has to be before many authorites will allow cutting down. Here is an excerpt from a local council report I have
"9. In terms of indirect damage through tree related subsidence, the occurrence of such damage is highly unpredictable, and the mere presence of a tree in close proximity to a property should not be taken as proof that such damage is occurring or is likely to occur.
10. Tree related subsidence can only occur on clay soils, and is also influenced by factors such as the plasticity index of the soil, the percentage of clay particles in the soil and the depth of the foundations of the property. As no information has been provided on the above factors a full assessment of the likelihood of tree related subsidence cannot be carried out. As such no works should be allowed on this basis. Lime Trees fall within the scope of the Tree Preservation Act and we would recomend the roots are trimmed and the insersertion of an impervious plastic barrier is placed some 3 metres infront of the property, thus limiting the theorectical invasion of the roots towards the said property."


So it might be worth chatting with the council before commencing with the total destruction of the tree. It appears from the report I have, they reccommend a general trim to the tree and the cutting of roots to prevent any damage. There is an important note here, that you cannot trim the roots to close to the tree as otherwise you could induce a stability issue - I guess thats why they are saying 3 metres.

I would also guess that due to the fact Lime trees like warm climates, they employ a "Tap Root" type system - rather like Oak trees. This means they send roots downwards to draw water from deep below the surface. This is different from Lleylandii and Willow which use a shallow wide spread system which is why they kill lawns and flowerbeds so easily and get blown down in storms. Amazing what you learn at college!
woody

ChainsawDR

In terms of chainsaws, the best performing chainsaws are petrol chainsaws, however most electric chainsaw users are not comfortable and unsure of the fuel mix to use.

Every chainsaw on the market is a two stroke machine (which are lighter than the four stroke engines you find on lawnmowers) which require a mix of two stroke oil and petrol. The best saws in the world are Stihl Chainsaws and Husqvarna Chainsaws.

There are a few very good homeowner versions that are well priced (particularly the Stihl MS180) which, if you treat them well, will last for years and years. If you use the Stihl and Husqvarna two stroke oil the fuel mix is 50 parts standard unleaded petrol to 1 part two stoke oil (5Ltr Petrol to 100ml Two Stroke Oil - which you can pour into a standard petrol canister).

If you opt for the top branded saws over the cheaper own branded ones you find there is a much higher quality - they are very dangerous machines and I personally will not use a saw that I do not trust completely - the chainbreak feature is the most important of all - it stops the chain dead in the event of a kickback (where the bar rotates back up towards you at great force) so if the bar does hit your body, the chain isnt moving and you'll be left with scratches instead of something much worse. Stihl, Husqvarna, and even Echo all use top quality parts that rarely break down.

My advice - chainsaws are deadly, if you are looking to save money - do so by going to a reputable company such as Quality Tools Ltd who have very good prices and service (there freephone number is for both sales and aftersales - no national rate number to call if there are problems!!!). They only sell proven and reliable machines. Don't save money by opting for a cheap version that hasn't got the proven safety features and quality parts, save money by going to a good company and getting a good deal instead.

Bungarm2001

Be careful...as someone else on here has said, a lot of Lime trees are now under preservation orders, and you'll need permission from the local council to even prune them let alone cut one down. They will be aware of them somewhere and there will probably be a tree warden around who will check on them without you knowing, so beware!

We had 4 lime trees along the street side of our driveway, about 4 metres away from the front wall of th house, and another 6 along one side of our boundary at the back. The house behind us was called 'The Limes' and he had another 6 along his boundary near us, so we were surrounded by them :eek: They had been there from the early 1960's and no sign of subsistence or any other building movement in our house or the one behind, so I think you're probably safe as long as they are managed properly. (our trees were planted at the same time the house was built tho...might be worth thinking about...)

We had ours pollarded every three years, but had all the stuff that grows out from the base trimmed every year to a manageable level, otherwise they kinda took over the garden.

The only real nuisance that they cause is dropping sticky stuff from the leaves during the summer. The roof of our van was permanently green and sticky, and so was the windscreen if it was left a couple of days......yuukkkkkkk

EDIT; Just remembered, poplar trees are pretty bad near bulidings...our farmer neighbour wanted to plant a row of them for a windbreak and me and my neighbour at the back objected to the council after we found out how extensive the roots were and he was told to remove them.