Tree Trimming Questions

[Deleted]

We have a large pecan tree in our back yard. Some of the branches are on the roof of the house. We had a company come out to give us an estimate on cutting them back.

What they proposed was cutting the big branches that support the ones on the roof, back close to the tree trunk. I asked about it making the tree lopsided since they won’t be doing the same on the other side of the tree. He said whenever people ask about that, he says yes, it’ll be heavy on one side, but the important thing is that the heavy side will be on the opposite side, away from the house.

I didn’t have trees at my other house, all my neighbors did. So, those of you that have had to have trees trimmed before, is that ok? Will being lopsided make it more likely to come down in a bad storm or whatever? Will the tree look weird being lopsided like that? I can’t imagine that it won’t.

We have a chainsaw, but wanted to leave the tree trimming to someone that knows what they’re doing. We’re afraid of doing it wrong and harming the tree. DBF doesn’t really like having the tree, but he doesn’t want to mess it up either.

Help!

[Bonny]

I take it the tree trimmer wasn't an arborist?


Of course the tree needs to be balanced. I suppose you could save some money trimming one side but what if it comes down in a storm? Could that hurt someone and/or what property damage?

[busymom]

I'd get a different company to come out & have a look.  And yes, a tree should be balanced.


I've been watching a neighbor get their trees branches thinned out, and whatever company they're using is doing a really attractive job.  I need to find out the name of the company!

[Tennesseer]

PC-Lopsided trees concern me.  As they are no longer balanced how will they hold up during severe thunderstorms with the strong winds we can get here.  Will they blow over because of the lopsidedness.

Have you ever had MLGW come buy your property and they drastically trim one or more of your trees because the branches are too close to the power lines?  I have. 

If you have ever had a Bradford pear tree on your property you would know a gust of 5 MPH or more will probably blow it over.  Horrible tree.  Bradford pear trees are fast growing trees and that is why some people plant them but the trees have very weak wood so they blow over.  When I bought my house back in 1996, there were six Bradford pear trees on the property.  I convinced my neighbor he really wanted four of them.  So he and I dug up four and moved them to his property.

One of the remaining two trees blew over in the severe thunderstorm of July, 2003 (Hurricane Elvis).  The last one, and this is why I mentioned MLGW, they trimmed the back half of it off because it was too close to power lines.  So I was left with half a tree which was completely lopsided and way off balance, especially for a Bradford pear tree.  I think it cost me around $700 to have the remainder of the tree cut down and removed.  

I think if MLGW is going to so drastically trim a tree they should cut the hole thing down and not leave it to the home owner to 'fix' the damage they caused.  MLGW told me 'too bad."

So think about the pecan tree and if it is lopsided consider that most strong thunderstorms come in from the southwest, west and northwest and if the tree was to fall, what would it fall on.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 16:51:37 GMT -5 Bonny said:

I take it the tree trimmer wasn't an arborist?


Of course the tree needs to be balanced. I suppose you could save some money trimming one side but what if it comes down in a storm? Could that hurt someone and/or what property damage?

I’m not sure if he was an arborist, but it was a company, not some random guy off the street.

I ASSume he was saying that if it did come down in a storm or whatever, being heavy on the opposite side would mean it would fall away from the house. It that happened, it wouldn’t damage anything, we don’t even have a fence on that side.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 17:12:48 GMT -5 busymom said:

I'd get a different company to come out & have a look.  And yes, a tree should be balanced.


I've been watching a neighbor get their trees branches thinned out, and whatever company they're using is doing a really attractive job.  I need to find out the name of the company!

That’s what I was thinking, that it would be best for the tree to be balanced, even if it was just for aesthetics, but also maybe for the health of the tree? Idk, that’s why I’m asking you all.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 17:15:51 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

PC-Lopsided trees concern me.  As they are no longer balanced how will they hold up during severe thunderstorms with the strong winds we can get here.  Will they blow over because of the lopsidedness.

Have you ever had MLGW come buy your property and they drastically trim one or more of your trees because the branches are too close to the power lines?  I have. 

If you have ever had a Bradford pear tree on your property you would know a gust of 5 MPH or more will probably blow it over.  Horrible tree.  Bradford pear trees are fast growing trees and that is why some people plant them but the trees have very weak wood so they blow over.  When I bought my house back in 1996, there were six Bradford pear trees on the property.  I convinced my neighbor he really wanted four of them.  So he and I dug up four and moved them to his property.

One of the remaining two trees blew over in the severe thunderstorm of July, 2003 (Hurricane Elvis).  The last one, and this is why I mentioned MLGW, they trimmed the back half of it off because it was too close to power lines.  So I was left with half a tree which was completely lopsided and way off balance, especially for a Bradford pear tree.  I think it cost me around $700 to have the remainder of the tree cut down and removed.  

I think if MLGW is going to so drastically trim a tree they should cut the hole thing down and not leave it to the home owner to 'fix' the damage they caused.  MLGW told me 'too bad."

So think about the pecan tree and if it is lopsided consider that most strong thunderstorms come in from the southwest, west and northwest and if the tree was to fall, what would it fall on.

The bolded is my primary concern, the way it will look is secondary.

Its the only tree on our lot. I think, there are other trees between our lot and the next door neighbors, but I think those trees are theirs.  

MLGW has never bothered our trees because our power lines are buried out here, so nothing to interfere with.

DBF doesn’t like our pecan tree because he says it moves too much with wind. It does sway a lot, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s the branches (big branches) and not so much the trunk itself.

The “heavy” side would be the west side of the tree, where there’s nothing but yard if it fell that way. But I’m not sure how wind from different directions would affect it.

[Deleted]

Okay, up on soapbox:

• First priority is get the tree off the roof
• Second priority is to have a tree that doesn't threaten your property or your neighbors
• Third priority is to have a healthy and attractive tree adding to the value of your property

Sometimes you can't accomplish everything in one trimming, especially if the tree has been neglected for years.  An overgrown tree can actually be sent into decline or killed outright with too much trimming at a time, especially in hot weather.  If your tree is trying to bear nuts this year, the added stress of trimming could definitely harm it.  

Maybe year 1, trim it off the roof.  Then next year, trim the other side for balance.  I don't know where you are, but here in Texas anyone trimming in our 100% temps is advised to root water and root feed to counter the trimming stress.  

As Tennesseer said, power companies are notorious for creating what we call "killer trees", something so lopsided it's guaranteed to come down on your house the next storm.  There were three pecans on our property when we bought it, but we made the power company remove one when they wanted to clear cut one side.  

Alrighty, down from soapbox!

[Tennesseer]

Jul 9, 2020 17:48:09 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Jul 9, 2020 17:15:51 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

PC-Lopsided trees concern me.  As they are no longer balanced how will they hold up during severe thunderstorms with the strong winds we can get here.  Will they blow over because of the lopsidedness.

Have you ever had MLGW come buy your property and they drastically trim one or more of your trees because the branches are too close to the power lines?  I have. 

If you have ever had a Bradford pear tree on your property you would know a gust of 5 MPH or more will probably blow it over.  Horrible tree.  Bradford pear trees are fast growing trees and that is why some people plant them but the trees have very weak wood so they blow over.  When I bought my house back in 1996, there were six Bradford pear trees on the property.  I convinced my neighbor he really wanted four of them.  So he and I dug up four and moved them to his property.

One of the remaining two trees blew over in the severe thunderstorm of July, 2003 (Hurricane Elvis).  The last one, and this is why I mentioned MLGW, they trimmed the back half of it off because it was too close to power lines.  So I was left with half a tree which was completely lopsided and way off balance, especially for a Bradford pear tree.  I think it cost me around $700 to have the remainder of the tree cut down and removed.  

I think if MLGW is going to so drastically trim a tree they should cut the hole thing down and not leave it to the home owner to 'fix' the damage they caused.  MLGW told me 'too bad."

So think about the pecan tree and if it is lopsided consider that most strong thunderstorms come in from the southwest, west and northwest and if the tree was to fall, what would it fall on.

The bolded is my primary concern, the way it will look is secondary.

Its the only tree on our lot. I think, there are other trees between our lot and the next door neighbors, but I think those trees are theirs.  

MLGW has never bothered our trees because our power lines are buried out here, so nothing to interfere with.

DBF doesn’t like our pecan tree because he says it moves too much with wind. It does sway a lot, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s the branches (big branches) and not so much the trunk itself.

The “heavy” side would be the west side of the tree, where there’s nothing but yard if it fell that way. But I’m not sure how wind from different directions would affect it.

Lucky you on the highlighted. I wish here. I live in the unincorporated area of Memphis.

[nidena]

Jul 9, 2020 17:48:09 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Jul 9, 2020 17:15:51 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

PC-Lopsided trees concern me.  As they are no longer balanced how will they hold up during severe thunderstorms with the strong winds we can get here.  Will they blow over because of the lopsidedness.

Have you ever had MLGW come buy your property and they drastically trim one or more of your trees because the branches are too close to the power lines?  I have. 

If you have ever had a Bradford pear tree on your property you would know a gust of 5 MPH or more will probably blow it over.  Horrible tree.  Bradford pear trees are fast growing trees and that is why some people plant them but the trees have very weak wood so they blow over.  When I bought my house back in 1996, there were six Bradford pear trees on the property.  I convinced my neighbor he really wanted four of them.  So he and I dug up four and moved them to his property.

One of the remaining two trees blew over in the severe thunderstorm of July, 2003 (Hurricane Elvis).  The last one, and this is why I mentioned MLGW, they trimmed the back half of it off because it was too close to power lines.  So I was left with half a tree which was completely lopsided and way off balance, especially for a Bradford pear tree.  I think it cost me around $700 to have the remainder of the tree cut down and removed.  

I think if MLGW is going to so drastically trim a tree they should cut the hole thing down and not leave it to the home owner to 'fix' the damage they caused.  MLGW told me 'too bad."

So think about the pecan tree and if it is lopsided consider that most strong thunderstorms come in from the southwest, west and northwest and if the tree was to fall, what would it fall on.

The bolded is my primary concern, the way it will look is secondary.

Its the only tree on our lot. I think, there are other trees between our lot and the next door neighbors, but I think those trees are theirs.  

MLGW has never bothered our trees because our power lines are buried out here, so nothing to interfere with.

DBF doesn’t like our pecan tree because he says it moves too much with wind. It does sway a lot, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s the branches (big branches) and not so much the trunk itself.

The “heavy” side would be the west side of the tree, where there’s nothing but yard if it fell that way. But I’m not sure how wind from different directions would affect it.

I would call an arborist.  Tree trimmers who *just* cut trees may not know the proper way to ensure good growth and health of the trees.  They're the same guys who cut city trees and you get big L trees that look like crap and don't grow well any longer.  And by "well" I mean are healthy.

[Deleted]

Around here we primarily worry about hurricanes and whether we will be on the "clean" or "dirty" side.  The last hurricane, we were on the dirty side and it snapped a towering pecan in my back yard 1/2 way up the main trunk.  Luckily the top half just fell straight down beside the rest of the trunk and didn't hit the house.  Cost us $2,000 to have the remainder of the trunk removed.  Our 50+ year old ash trees in the front yard aged out and we removed them.  New rule here is nothing on the lot capable of hitting the house.  We have a smaller oak and many, many crape myrtles but nothing that can crush us.  Living through the hours-long horror of hurricane winds and embedded tornadoes is bad enough without worrying about a tree coming down on you.  

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 17:51:54 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Okay, up on soapbox:

• First priority is get the tree off the roof
• Second priority is to have a tree that doesn't threaten your property or your neighbors
• Third priority is to have a healthy and attractive tree adding to the value of your property

Sometimes you can't accomplish everything in one trimming, especially if the tree has been neglected for years.  An overgrown tree can actually be sent into decline or killed outright with too much trimming at a time, especially in hot weather.  If your tree is trying to bear nuts this year, the added stress of trimming could definitely harm it.  

Maybe year 1, trim it off the roof.  Then next year, trim the other side for balance.  I don't know where you are, but here in Texas anyone trimming in our 100% temps is advised to root water and root feed to counter the trimming stress.  

As Tennesseer said, power companies are notorious for creating what we call "killer trees", something so lopsided it's guaranteed to come down on your house the next storm.  There were three pecans on our property when we bought it, but we made the power company remove one when they wanted to clear cut one side.  

Alrighty, down from soapbox!

No, I appreciate what you shared while on your soapbox! I’m trying to learn, so thank you! I already shared with DBF what the prior posts said, and he said maybe we should just cut the branches back from the house, but not go as far as cutting at the tree trunk.

What do you all think about that? Maybe do that and trim all around the tree? Some of the branches are almost touching the ground. DBF wants it taken care of now, but would it be better for the tree if we waited? If so, when would be a better time?

We live in the mid-south, with brutal summers, high temps and very humid. We do NOT want to stress the tree more than necessary, we really just want to get the branches off of the house. When we moved in last summer, we had a lot of squirrels, and I saw them on window sills and running around on the roof. We don’t have many now, probably because of the dog, but I think tree branches on a roof are an invitation for problems, please correct me if I’m wrong.

We also have a big branch that’s at a window that DBF wants cut back because he thinks it could break the window with a good gust of wind, or I guess if it just keeps growing lol.

I don’t know anything about this, so I’m happy to receive whatever advice you all have.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 17:52:29 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Jul 9, 2020 17:48:09 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

The bolded is my primary concern, the way it will look is secondary.

Its the only tree on our lot. I think, there are other trees between our lot and the next door neighbors, but I think those trees are theirs.  

MLGW has never bothered our trees because our power lines are buried out here, so nothing to interfere with.

DBF doesn’t like our pecan tree because he says it moves too much with wind. It does sway a lot, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s the branches (big branches) and not so much the trunk itself.

The “heavy” side would be the west side of the tree, where there’s nothing but yard if it fell that way. But I’m not sure how wind from different directions would affect it.

Lucky you on the highlighted. I wish here. I live in the unincorporated area of Memphis.

I live in a suburb. I have a pretty good idea of what part of town you live in, from prior posts. My other house is in Whitehaven, and the power would go out at that house if it even looked like the wind MIGHT blow. Where I live now, we haven’t lost power even once since we’ve been here. It has blinked a couple of times, but it didn’t actually go out. But it’s been out at my other house several times since I moved. We didn’t even realize the power lines were buried here until after we moved in, it was a pleasant surprise.

Move on out here with us, and I’d be happy to call you my neighbor!

[finnime]

I agree with the others, call an arborist. They can assess the tree and get the offending branches removed with the least stress to the tree and also leave a nicely proportioned tree for future growth. They will know if this is not the best time to be messing with it, too.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 18:02:36 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Around here we primarily worry about hurricanes and whether we will be on the "clean" or "dirty" side.  The last hurricane, we were on the dirty side and it snapped a towering pecan in my back yard 1/2 way up the main trunk.  Luckily the top half just fell straight down beside the rest of the trunk and didn't hit the house.  Cost us $2,000 to have the remainder of the trunk removed.  Our 50+ year old ash trees in the front yard aged out and we removed them.  New rule here is nothing on the lot capable of hitting the house.  We have a smaller oak and many, many crape myrtles but nothing that can crush us.  Living through the hours-long horror of hurricane winds and embedded tornadoes is bad enough without worrying about a tree coming down on you.  

My old neighborhood had a lot of mature (huge) trees also. EVERY spring, at least 1 came down and crushed a house.

This pecan tree is the only one we have, but both my neighbors have trees tall enough that the might touch our house if they fell, and neither neighbor is really close to us, like they would be if we lived in the city.

The last time it stormed here, I sat in the garage looking at what was going on, and it was actually kind of terrifying seeing my neighbor’s big ass trees swaying in the wind. That same neighbor, last summer, lightening struck one of their trees during a storm. The whole tree didn’t come down, but it was enough to damage their fence, and they had to have someone come out to deal with the damage to the tree itself.

I don’t mind trees, but I’m good with not having one on my own property (a previous owner at my other house had cut all the trees down on that property, so this pecan tree is all the experience I have) because I’m aware of the potential problems.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 18:32:04 GMT -5 finnime said:

I agree with the others, call an arborist. They can assess the tree and get the offending branches removed with the least stress to the tree and also leave a nicely proportioned tree for future growth. They will know if this is not the best time to be messing with it, too.

I will tell DBF this. I guess we just assumed that a company dedicated to dealing with tree trimming would be arborists, but maybe that’s not so.

He quoted us $675 for what he said he’d do, but I don’t want it to end up costing us more problems and money later.

What @donethat said about doing things in stages makes sense. So, I’ll talk to DBF about all of that.

I told DBF that my friends that live in my computer are awesome, I can get answers to almost any issue, and if nothing else, someone here will point me in the right direction to find out what I need to know. I don’t think he’s fully convinced, and might think I’m a little weird lol. Oh well.

[Deleted]

We tend to do a lot of "opening up" on our oak tree, removing some of the smaller interior branches.  This removes a wall of limbs the wind can push against, opening up the canopy of the tree so the wind can pass through without knocking it over.  This also helps provide sunlight to the grass underneath.

[nidena]

Arborists are the hair stylists of the tree world.  They know how to deal with texture, curl, and length.  Tree trimmers are your little sister with a pair of scissors.

[Deleted]

Personally, this year I would opt to remove the branches dragging on the roof, and "lift the canopy" by trimming those branches really close to the ground.  And maybe a little trim on the side away from the house.  Next year, maybe more of an overall haircut to balance things and open up the canopy by interior trimming of smaller branches.  Pecan trees are pretty tough.  Is it a hybrid that produces good nuts?  

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 19:00:07 GMT -5 @donethat said:

We tend to do a lot of "opening up" on our oak tree, removing some of the smaller interior branches.  This removes a wall of limbs the wind can push against, opening up the canopy of the tree so the wind can pass through without knocking it over.  This also helps provide sunlight to the grass underneath.

This sounds similar to what I use to do with the box woods at my other house. It helped to get sunlight to the interior of the bush, so to speak, so it would be “fuller”. At least, that’s what I liked to believe.

[Deleted]

Jul 9, 2020 19:06:12 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Personally, this year I would opt to remove the branches dragging on the roof, and "lift the canopy" by trimming those branches really close to the ground.  And maybe a little trim on the side away from the house.  Next year, maybe more of an overall haircut to balance things and open up the canopy by interior trimming of smaller branches.  Pecan trees are pretty tough.  Is it a hybrid that produces good nuts?  

I am going to read this to DBF and see what he thinks. Thanks!

Idk if it’s a hybrid. It didn’t seem to produce a lot of good nuts last year either. The squirrels liked it though. Some ofnthe higher branches reached over the deck, and late last summer/early fall, it was nothing for half eaten pecans to fall all around me while I sat out there, from the squirrels enjoying their feast.

TBH, I don’t recall seeing what I call a “ripe” pecan (meaning not at least a little green) at all since we’ve been here. Idk what that means though.

[Tennesseer]

Jul 9, 2020 18:17:27 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Jul 9, 2020 17:51:54 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Okay, up on soapbox:

• First priority is get the tree off the roof
• Second priority is to have a tree that doesn't threaten your property or your neighbors
• Third priority is to have a healthy and attractive tree adding to the value of your property

Sometimes you can't accomplish everything in one trimming, especially if the tree has been neglected for years.  An overgrown tree can actually be sent into decline or killed outright with too much trimming at a time, especially in hot weather.  If your tree is trying to bear nuts this year, the added stress of trimming could definitely harm it.  

Maybe year 1, trim it off the roof.  Then next year, trim the other side for balance.  I don't know where you are, but here in Texas anyone trimming in our 100% temps is advised to root water and root feed to counter the trimming stress.  

As Tennesseer said, power companies are notorious for creating what we call "killer trees", something so lopsided it's guaranteed to come down on your house the next storm.  There were three pecans on our property when we bought it, but we made the power company remove one when they wanted to clear cut one side.  

Alrighty, down from soapbox!

No, I appreciate what you shared while on your soapbox! I’m trying to learn, so thank you! I already shared with DBF what the prior posts said, and he said maybe we should just cut the branches back from the house, but not go as far as cutting at the tree trunk.

What do you all think about that? Maybe do that and trim all around the tree? Some of the branches are almost touching the ground. DBF wants it taken care of now, but would it be better for the tree if we waited? If so, when would be a better time?

We live in the mid-south, with brutal summers, high temps and very humid. We do NOT want to stress the tree more than necessary, we really just want to get the branches off of the house. When we moved in last summer, we had a lot of squirrels, and I saw them on window sills and running around on the roof. We don’t have many now, probably because of the dog, but I think tree branches on a roof are an invitation for problems, please correct me if I’m wrong.

We also have a big branch that’s at a window that DBF wants cut back because he thinks it could break the window with a good gust of wind, or I guess if it just keeps growing lol.

I don’t know anything about this, so I’m happy to receive whatever advice you all have.

Cut what what ever might hit or sit on the house. And do that now.

I don't know that much about pee-can trees (I'm a northerner). But I have several ornamental crabapple trees and if I snip an inch off a tiny twig the damn things sent up suckers because they thinks they are dying and they want to save themselves with hundred of suckers.

Hopefully your pecan tree doesn't send up suckers if trimmed.

[countrygirl2]

We have over 50 trees on our 4 acres. Hubs has cut down a couple that broke. But none of our
trees are close enough to the house to harm it. 

We had a huge pecan lose part of it and were building a new garage, cost us a couple thousand to take it out also.

Get it off the roof and have someone trim and even it up, will look better.

[Deleted]

Pecan trees aren't prone to send up suckers.  My crape myrtles do so it's a weekly trim job on them.  

Hybrid pecan trees produce the best for eating, thin shells and big meat; the native non-hybridized ones produce smaller meat within a really tough shell.  Squirrels don't care-they eat them all.  Our deck is under the oak tree and I swear the little furry monsters delight in eating half an acorn and pelting me with the other half.  We have a bur oak which produces acorns 2+ inches in diameter so it really hurts.  The squirrels have a wicked sense of humor I think.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jul 9, 2020 17:15:51 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

PC-Lopsided trees concern me.  As they are no longer balanced how will they hold up during severe thunderstorms with the strong winds we can get here.  Will they blow over because of the lopsidedness.

Have you ever had MLGW come buy your property and they drastically trim one or more of your trees because the branches are too close to the power lines?  I have. 

If you have ever had a Bradford pear tree on your property you would know a gust of 5 MPH or more will probably blow it over.  Horrible tree.  Bradford pear trees are fast growing trees and that is why some people plant them but the trees have very weak wood so they blow over.  When I bought my house back in 1996, there were six Bradford pear trees on the property.  I convinced my neighbor he really wanted four of them.  So he and I dug up four and moved them to his property.

One of the remaining two trees blew over in the severe thunderstorm of July, 2003 (Hurricane Elvis).  The last one, and this is why I mentioned MLGW, they trimmed the back half of it off because it was too close to power lines.  So I was left with half a tree which was completely lopsided and way off balance, especially for a Bradford pear tree.  I think it cost me around $700 to have the remainder of the tree cut down and removed.  

I think if MLGW is going to so drastically trim a tree they should cut the hole thing down and not leave it to the home owner to 'fix' the damage they caused.  MLGW told me 'too bad."

So think about the pecan tree and if it is lopsided consider that most strong thunderstorms come in from the southwest, west and northwest and if the tree was to fall, what would it fall on.

The street I lived on in Lexington was lined with Bradford pear.  Gorgeous trees, but not substantial.  When we had an ice storm, every other tree broke apart and made my street impassable.  

I figured after that storm that the city would do something so this wouldn’t happen again.  They did, they replaced the downed trees with more of the same.  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

We had a tree fall (before I moved in) and it took out the roof over the master bedroom and bath.  Because of this, TD usually gets an arborist in to look at the trees to see if any are going to become problems.

Last time he had the arborist out, there were 2 trees that needed to come down, but they were on someone else’s property.  TD went to see the homeowner and offered to split the cost to bring those trees down.  The trees were more likely to fall on the other person’s house, but small chance they’d fall our way.  Homeowner said nope.  

Two years later, house was sold to someone else and new owner took down the 2 trees on his own dime.  

[buystoys]

I agree with calling in an arborist.  DH has done most of the tree work on our house.  We've been here almost seven years and he's finally happy with where we are on the trees in our yard.  He doesn't take off much in any one year to make certain the tree stays healthy.  We did take all branches down that could harm the house or the sheds the first year we were here.  There were two trees that died without any branches taken down.  The first one fell on the house (was in the front yard) but fortunately did no damage.  I don't remember what kind of tree it was.  We also lost our willow tree one winter.  It wasn't well and we think some ice formed in the main trunk and killed it. 

[dannylion]

You might want to reconsider having a tree so close to the house that it poses a potential threat to the structure.  The issue of branches or the whole tree coming down on the house is only part of the problems a large tree very close to the house can pose.  The roots can potentially disrupt or breach the foundation.  Branches touching the structure can serve as a conduit for insects (such as termites or carpenter ants) to access the structure and its wooden structural elements.  The leaves get into the gutters in larger numbers than they would if the tree were not so close to the house.  Even if the tree can be trimmed to mitigate its current issues, it's going to keep growing, so those issues (or new ones) will likely reappear before very long.  

At some point, it might make sense to take the tree down altogether and replace it with one or more trees placed at a safer distance.  The arborist might be able to offer suggestions on the best types of trees to consider to achieve the outcome you want for shade or privacy or something else.  

[Deleted]

I shared with DBF the information and advice I got here. I think he’s decided to just have it trimmed to get the branches off the house for now, but not have them cut close to the trunk like the guy proposed.

Call me crazy, but I hadn’t really paid attention to just how big the tree is. It’s huge, and much taller than our house. It provides shade for our bedroom, and the deck in late afternoon.

dannylion, I dare not suggest to him that maybe we should get rid of the tree altogether, even though he’s not thrilled about having it. He’d not owned a home for several years before we bought this one, and he’s still getting use to all the headaches homeownership brings again. It’s been one thing after another since we moved here, but thankfully nothing major. But if I mention tree roots right now, he might lose it. He agrees that it needs to be trimmed, so I’ll just roll with that for the time being, and reassess the situation at a later date.

THANK YOU to everyone that chimed in with thoughts and opinions!

[Bonny]

Jul 10, 2020 10:48:29 GMT -5 dannylion said:

You might want to reconsider having a tree so close to the house that it poses a potential threat to the structure.  The issue of branches or the whole tree coming down on the house is only part of the problems a large tree very close to the house can pose.  The roots can potentially disrupt or breach the foundation.  Branches touching the structure can serve as a conduit for insects (such as termites or carpenter ants) to access the structure and its wooden structural elements.  The leaves get into the gutters in larger numbers than they would if the tree were not so close to the house.  Even if the tree can be trimmed to mitigate its current issues, it's going to keep growing, so those issues (or new ones) will likely reappear before very long.  

At some point, it might make sense to take the tree down altogether and replace it with one or more trees placed at a safer distance.  The arborist might be able to offer suggestions on the best types of trees to consider to achieve the outcome you want for shade or privacy or something else.  

I'll add that many people plant trees too close to their house never imagining how big they will get. They look so tiny even in a 15 gal pot!