Neighbor Killing Very Mature Willow Tree
My parents neighbor to the rear has a very mature willow tree that spreads over into at least three other yards (the tree is on the rear property line) Over the 20 + years that my parents lived in their home, we have cleaned lots of yard debris from the tree. Last year, the tree…
My parents neighbor to the rear has a very mature willow tree that spreads over into at least three other yards (the tree is on the rear property line) Over the 20 + years that my parents lived in their home, we have cleaned lots of yard debris from the tree. Last year, the tree began dropping very large branches that had to be cut down with an electric saw. My parents did not complain to the owner, they just cleaned up the mess it made and repaired the arbor for their grape vine. This year, the large branches have began to fall again but in my next door neighbor’s yard. She spoke to the owner and he chopped up the branch for her. During the conversation with him, she learned that he has been intentionally killing the tree for a while. She shared this information with my father who is now very concerned about the potential damage the tree can inflict on our property.
I am sharing it with you all for advice because my dad seems to believe that a person cannot slowly kill of a tree. My parents home is four stories and the tree is taller than their house, so it is a huge tree.
I’m thinking that neighbor is going a cheap route for ridding himself of the tree. My dad wants to write a letter expressing his concern. But before he starts including inaccurate information, I decided to seek advice from other home owners.
Any insight on how to handle this is much appreciated. Thanks in advance
There’s a HUGE tree (an ailanthus) two doors down from me that has dropped its trashy dead limbs more than once on my carefully-tended garden, and smashed my fence and plants in the process. According to my neighbor, it narrowly missed someone in the yard once, too. The owner of that lot is on 5th ave and is by all accounts a slumlord-type commercial landlord. I have tried to figure out if I have any way to make him take it down: apparently not without going to court.
Any new knowledge on this topic would be appreciated.
JUST TO ADD: I realize that this tree is much more more than 20 years old — sometimes trees in bronwstone backyards live longer than usual because they are more sheltered than street and park trees — but if it’s losing a lot of branches etc, it sounds like it’s just aging out.
Call an arborist to come check out the tree. Willows are NOT long-lived. Most die within 20-30 years. The wood is brittle which makes them prone to wind damage. So while it’s possible that the neighbors are tampering with it, it also possible that nature is simply taking its course. If its dying, get it cut down before it falls down.
It takes years and years for trees to die, and then, even once they’re dead, it takes years and years for them to fall over. For instance, my neighbor has a huge dead trunk currently angling (at close to 45 degrees) toward my fence and house. It’s been that way for at least five years now, through wind storms that made my whole house shake.
I agree that it’s better to get someone to take down unwanted trees, but it is very expensive.
Arbicide in brownstone Brooklyn! How awful. Very foolish too, because taking down a diseased tree is very dangerous and would presumably cost lots more than taking down a healthy one. Paging the Ents.
I have two large trees in my backyard. I asked my insurance company about what would happen if a tree fell and damaged something. He said I was covered as long as the I did not ignore the condition of the tree. (ie as long as I believed it was healthy, etc) I had a tree guy come an check it out and trim out dead and hazardish branches. If there is damage, your neighbors insurance may not cover it if there is negligence. That may change his behavior.
If you ring bark the tree, it will die.
Ring barking is making a continuous cut thru the bark around the tree. Do you see that? you can also poison a tree.
I had one very large, very old and very sick silver maple which lurched over with its only two leaders into a neighbor’s yard. I decided to take it down. When assessing how to take it down safely, the arborist noted that he thought a previous owner was trying to kill it. It had saw marks, and a large metal spike driven through the trunk as well as other pieces of metal. So, yes, I do think that people try to kill trees, rather than pay the money to take them down. This is a very very bad idea. In the end, this tree was very diseased — a disaster waiting to happen. Luckily, the tree guys managed to climb the tree and take it down in stages safely. But it just needed a good storm to do some major damage to my neighbors house or God forbid, some unsuspecting passerby since it arched over a condo walkway as well.
I think that there is an old school group of people who think that it is OK to try to kill a tree this way, but they could kill a person in the process.
I would definately write a letter to the person, or talk to them to ask them to get the tree assessed by a tree specialist. They will be liable in the end if the tree winds up damaging property or hurting someone in the process.