How to remove sapling without damaging lavender bush

MayBee70

He’s the local farmer. Rich beyond belief but when he had a Sycamore tree removed that was overhanging my garden he made me pay towards it! The tree is the bane of my life. It’s roots are lifting my driveway, the pine needles fill my gutters and the pigeons that roost in it poo all over my house. But it has a preservation order on it! I had some branches removed a few years ago but they still didn’t remove enough imo.

Did you ask for the other tree to be removed? Or did he do so of his own bat?

What sort of tree is the current problem- preservation orders should only be for 'special' trees. Several of us tried to put a TPO on a massive and wonderful walnut tree- and it was refused because they said it is 'non native'- the UK has had walnut trees for 100s of years. We all knew why, 2 of the local Councillors were involved in a landsale for a building development, and they knew a walnut tree would lead to complaints as walnuts would fall on road access and stain.

Goodness, MayBee70, that farmer neighbour had a cheek insisting you contribute to the cost of removal of a tree that was on his property! No wonder he’s rich. He wouldn’t have got a penny from me.

Sorry, your post arrived as I was typing that reply - but all the same I'd be as polite as possible.

I agree with Fleur - if its loose and dangerous just pop round and ask nicely if they'd help you remove it as you're worried it'll dislodge and damage your car.
It is his responsibility but you are entitled to remove it yourself, but that could be costly.
Just don't antagonise the neighbours by stomping round, all guns blazing like ours did with us after a branch blew into their drive after a storm - we'd have shifted it anyway but their attitude really spoiled a friendly co-existence.

He’s the local farmer. Rich beyond belief but when he had a Sycamore tree removed that was overhanging my garden he made me pay towards it! The tree is the bane of my life. It’s roots are lifting my driveway, the pine needles fill my gutters and the pigeons that roost in it poo all over my house. But it has a preservation order on it! I had some branches removed a few years ago but they still didn’t remove enough imo.

You need to go and talk to the owner and ask them to have it removed. Or is there a problem with the neighbour?

On the subject of trees, there’s a loose branch on a tree overhanging my driveway. Am I responsible for getting it removed or is it the responsibility of the owner of the tree? I can’t park underneath it in case it dislodges itself and falls on my car. I sometimes have to pay to have the branches removed but this is just a branch that’s broken off in the wind.

Grammaretto

I've just had a quote from a tree surgeon to fell , log and leave logs in situ, a dying elm tree which had self seeded about 20 years ago. £750 .
Pull it out now while you still can!!

Ouch! Hope you can use the logs once they are seasoned.

I've just had a quote from a tree surgeon to fell , log and leave logs in situ, a dying elm tree which had self seeded about 20 years ago. £750 .
Pull it out now while you still can!!

The longer you leave it the worse it will be. Dig it out keeping as close to the sapling as possible. Once you get so far down you may be able to pull it out. Then smooth the lavender back in. The other alternative is to cut the sycamore as low as possible and dig it out when the lavender stops flowering. You are going to have to bite the bullet on this one.

Oh sycamore are the bane of my life a huge tree opposite and the babies are growing everywhere and the neighbours don’t seem to mind or know what they are or how big they can get

My neighbours have an enormous sycamore - horrible dirty tree. The keys/seeds block my gutters and others take root everywhere. I managed to pull quite a big sapling out yesterday as the ground was sodden and I twisted the stem around my hand to get a good grip.
I think it sounds best to lift as much as you can, separate the sapling, then replant the lavender.

I agree with Maybee remove the lavender carefully, haul out the sycamore and replant the lavender.

In my garden the culprits are ash seedlings. I pull them out where possible, but your sycamore looks quite large. I find the best way of grasping and keeping hold of the base of the stalk is with a Mole wrench. Good luck!

The roots can go deep, so not easy to pull.

I once took one out by using a large kitchen knife to cut into the soil all the way round, as close as I could get to the sapling, Then I went round again at a slight angle, trying to weaken the root all the way round. Then a big heave and the whole plug came out. All well and good, but the knife wasn't a great deal of use afterwards!

Now you know it's there cut it down, stick in a bamboo cane to mark the spot and keep on cutting it down everytime it develops so much as a leaf bud. It will give in eventually!

My sympathies. I’m surrounded by sycamore trees. Horrible things. If it was me I’d wait till later in the year when the lavender probably needs cutting back anyway, then I’d lift it all up with a fork, prise the sycamore away from the lavender and then replant the lavender as quickly as possible. But I’m no expert. I mistakenly planted a dwarf lilac ( which is growing much bigger than expected) next to a Photinia and later in the year I’ve got to separate them so that’s what I’m going to do.

We sometimes have problems with sycamore saplings and they can be very hard to pull up because the roots seem to go quite deep.

You could try pushing the lavender twigs aside so that you can reach the roots of the sapling. If that doesn't work, maybe you'll manage to kill it if you keep cutting it off when it starts to grow.

Have you tried pulling it up?