Cutting down one of my trees

Your neighbour should pay the cost of removing the tree if it is only for her benefit. Would she do that?

I'm not a fan of leylandii conifers, if that's what it is. Tbh I don't think they're suitable for smaller suburban gardens, they can grow up to 100 feet with their shallow roots meaning it's impossible to grow much near them so I'm sympathetic to your neighbour, I'm afraid. Personally I'd get rid and replace with something more suitable and beautiful. You'll keep your neighbour happy and remove a tree that will always present you with a problem as they grow quickly and is not native. If you're using it to screen your view of your neighbour's house it's probably casting rather a lot of shadow in their garden!

I could be your neighbour, furret. When we moved in 35 years ago, the area behind our house was a woodland. A large house was built there and the owner/builder planted conifers around the border.
I dislike leylandi, they’re unsuitable for suburban gardens. They grow so quickly, make it difficult to grow things near them and throw shadow. The ones at the bottom of my garden grew taller than my house. My garden was in shade, plants and shrubs in my border didn’t survive.
That house has changed hands three times so I’ve been negotiating and paying to keep these ugly things cut back. I’ve managed to avoid rows but it’s an irritant that I’m the one funding and trying to avoid letting these things take over

I was house-hunting in 2018/19 and turned down several houses because of what I saw growing close to the boundary, mature trees, it was not yet spring so there was no heavy leaf canopy. I had my wits about me, could work out sun/shade/subsequent root spread and damage

Small newly planted leylandii, right up against a fence 1 metre away from the lovely new bungalow. It could have been mine, I was first viewer. No, I stood on tiptoe after seeing what looked like whispy fronds. I viewed and said no way

None of my fruit trees, all with carefully chosen M26 rootstocks will ever impinge onto my neighbours gardens, nor they onto mine. We are all considerate neighbours

Nobody said it was a leylandi as far as I can see.

NotSpaghetti

Nobody said it was a leylandi as far as I can see.

"I'm not a fan of leylandii conifers, if that's what it is. "

I introduced the thought that it might be a leylandii, however even if it's a native conifer like a Scot's Pine, they still grow quickly and reach a great height.

I am pleased to know you have decided to cut the tree down . I fully understand it can't be done in the nesting season . I love my birds but your birds will be ok!
Personally I detest conifers!! I hope your neighbours are able to pay half the cost, if I were in their situation I would happily do that. Asking your neighbour round for coffee is a sound idea - not to discuss why the tree should stay but to tell her your decision about felling the tree. Good luck !

I’ve no idea what the tree is, but, if what people are telling me is true it can’t be a Leylandi because there’s plenty growing underneath it; berberis, a smoke bush, bluebells, and a flowering current. And a good variety of birds nesting there. In fact the pigeon’s protect the smaller birds. Only yesterday a big fat wood pigeon saw off a magpie, then a blackbird joined in.

Incidentally this is not a ‘small urban garden’ but (as previously stated) a very large garden.

So yes, IF, NDN will pay half I will fell it in Autumm. But there’s no law which says I must unless it is dangerous, so I will be doing this reluctantly.

Poor birds.

PS perhaps I should start moaning about her cockerel 🐓

Furret

Thanks for your views. I do object to being called selfish especially as I’ve bent over backwards to accommodate this particular neighbour.

I’ve asked her to come across for a coffee so we can discuss this.
She needs to understand that it is illegal to cut this tree down in the nesting season, so any decision cannot be acted upon until October.

Unfortunately our garden birds are struggling nowadays. I’m a keen believer in ‘give nature a home’. We have destroyed so many habitat of our native species, poisoned them with pesticides, and hunted them to extinction. And we call ourselves a nation of animal lovers!

Is it right on the border, Furret? If so, your neighbour is within her rights to ask that it be felled.

The neighbour behind us had a huge conifer in his small garden but mainly it was magpies that nested in there and they steal the eggs of other garden birds. We did hint that it was in the wrong place and he had it felled.

There are, however, many other trees in the vicinity.

Conifers can be a bit of a menace, especially Leylandii. Their roots are long and stringy like a thick rope, head for the nearest drains and block them. Some of our neighbours have Leylandii hedges, completely out of control, but not on our border thank goodness.

PS perhaps I should start moaning about her cockerel 🐓

😯

As long as you get it topped or lopped in the winter, the birds will be fine and find somewhere else or come back. Just tell her they're nesting at the moment and you are not allowed to touch it.

I honestly think there needs to be regulation about planting confiers in residential gardens and their height. There are huge ones in people's gardens and of course it becomes a nuisance to neighbours. Remember having good relationships with your neighbours take give and take. I would rather have a good relationship with my neighbour than have a massive conifer in my garden.

I agree JaneJudge, much as we want to avoid unnecessary legislation, conifers/leylandi really aren’t suitable in suburban gardens. The current legislation is unclear

Allira

1. Legally she has no ‘right’ to ask me to cut down a singleton tree. If it was two or more trees then she could apply for a High Hedge Notice - but this isn’t the case. Even though she has no right I have posted that I will fell the tree if she pays half.

2) She is not happy even though we paid £300 to have a good 10 feet lopped off the top only last year and the sides trimmed well back. And yes, happily my birds did return. She’ll not be happy until it’s gone - same as the tree I had felled in my front after her nagging.

3) No magpies in my garden. They visit from somewhere to the west of us. I’ve just looked on my Merlin app and it has recorded greenfinch, goldfinches, goldcrest, Robin, blackbird, house sparrow, dunnock, wren, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, blackcap, starling, a mallard (sitting on my thatch) and her chickens!

4) we have very big gardens - I agree a large conifer isn’t appropriate in a small garden, but that’s not the case here.

5) no drains that I’m aware off in our back gardens - in fact I’m sure they all empty into the road at the front.

What’s really annoyed me if that she collared hubby and gave him an earful. Poor man. Then she beggared off on holiday again, leaving us to feed her chickens, tortoises, cat and hamster.

Anyway she’s back tonight and I’ve summoned her for a coffee this week to Discuss Problem of the Tree!!

Furret, that post saud so much about your neighbour, none of it good.
Good luck in resolving this

Thank you Iam64

You’re so welcome, neighbour disputes are tedious and stressful.

What’s really annoyed me if that she collared hubby and gave him an earful. Poor man. Then she beggared off on holiday again, leaving us to feed her chickens, tortoises, cat and hamster.

😯

Lucky you, having no magpies! Mind you, we do have a sparrowhawk nearby and I'm sure a lot of smaller birds are keeping away, but we've seen heaps of pigeon feathers and a dead magpie!

Furret you may have plants growing under it but is your neighbour able to grow anything as her area will be dry and in shade. The last line in your opening post asks "What do I do". You have received answers from many of us. If you resent feeding her hens etc when she's away, don't do it. The tree is a separate issue, not a bargaining chip but I'd try to avoid unpleasantness with a neighbour, it never works out well.

Our previous house had a garden at the bottom that had Leylandii all around its border. When we first moved there the owner had them topped every few years to keep them in check but as she grew older they were neglected and grew and grew and eventually were over 50 feet tall! Luckily we were able to contact her daughter to ask that they were cut back, and she decided to have them removed completely as they were also compromising the sale of her mother's property to allow her to downsize.

In our current house, we have woods at the bottom with tall sycamores which are the bane of my life, not because of shade but because of the seeds that are shed by the thousands every year and spring up as saplings in our garden. But I accept that we bought a house with a wood at the bottom so accept the work of pulling out the little b*****s each spring. What I did not expect was that our next door neighbour would proudly plant a horse chestnut fifteen feet from our side boundary at the bottom of his garden! To put this in perspective, our gardens are about 50 by 30 feet, not exactly huge...I can see huge problems with shade, roots and so on. It will shade out my greenhouse in a few years for most of the morning and I will have to give up my little raised veg beds as they won't get enough light. Why do people plant trees that belong in huge country estates or woodland in relatively small gardens? Does anyone know if there is anything I can do about this, or do I just have to accept it?

Furret

Allira

1. Legally she has no ‘right’ to ask me to cut down a singleton tree. If it was two or more trees then she could apply for a High Hedge Notice - but this isn’t the case. Even though she has no right I have posted that I will fell the tree if she pays half.

2) She is not happy even though we paid £300 to have a good 10 feet lopped off the top only last year and the sides trimmed well back. And yes, happily my birds did return. She’ll not be happy until it’s gone - same as the tree I had felled in my front after her nagging.

3) No magpies in my garden. They visit from somewhere to the west of us. I’ve just looked on my Merlin app and it has recorded greenfinch, goldfinches, goldcrest, Robin, blackbird, house sparrow, dunnock, wren, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, blackcap, starling, a mallard (sitting on my thatch) and her chickens!

4) we have very big gardens - I agree a large conifer isn’t appropriate in a small garden, but that’s not the case here.

5) no drains that I’m aware off in our back gardens - in fact I’m sure they all empty into the road at the front.

What’s really annoyed me if that she collared hubby and gave him an earful. Poor man. Then she beggared off on holiday again, leaving us to feed her chickens, tortoises, cat and hamster.

Anyway she’s back tonight and I’ve summoned her for a coffee this week to Discuss Problem of the Tree!!

I would keep the tree . Bird populations have been decimated . You already cut one tree down to appease her , that’s enough !

This is obviously not a Leylandii.
If she wants it gone I think she should pay the whole thing, personally.

AskAlice Generally it's ignorance rather than malice. Solicitors have made a lot of money out of disputes over trees. I love the wildlife in my garden but I value the friendship of my neighbours more. It's easier for a bird to find a new place to build a nest than a family or an elderly person to move because of a festering argument with a neighbour. We have French poplars along some of our boundaries, we've lost 7 of them over the years, brought down by high winds but they are nowhere near our neighbours and we have left their remains in the garden to house other creatures. The same with an old oak that came down two years ago in one of our paddocks, useable branches were given to our neighbours and the rest is quietly decomposing providing a home for all sorts of creatures. If you have a big garden and need to take down a tree it's easy to support diversity by just leaving it on the ground!

Leylandii are weeds.

Conifers are proper trees and do provide shelter for birds all year round because they are evergreen and food as well.

There is no such thing, botanically speaking, as a weed.

My next door neighbour has made my life hell over my trees .
First of all , he wanted five removed from the front garden.
Then , three really pretty ornamental trees from the back garden .
I removed a fourth .
He has sent me endless letters of complaint and threatened to sue me .
On one occasion he actually assaulted me .
As his wife and daughters were always pleasant to me - I resisted taking out a restraining order against him .
I have always been polite and tried to be agreeable and pleasant.
Now his garden actually looks like the exercise yard of a prison -it has a very high fence and bright lighting .
I've heard that he has dementia and I certainly think that he was exhibiting signs of mental illness some years ago .
I certainly think that his obsession with me has verged on the unhealthy.
You never know who is going to be your neighbour .