Sycamore - who has one?

NotSpag - the tree concerning me is in a garden within the TPO mapped area so is covered by the TPO. Getting 50 households to contribute to insurance isn't a task I'd take on. I've ruled this house out as there are other issues along with the sycamore.

Had a look at another house today which shows likely evidence of amateur attempts at Japanese Knotweed removal, he'd probably have been better to leave it alone.

Monica - l hope your method controls/eliminates future growth, good luck!

I had 5 when I moved here, 2 of which had TPO’s. 3 were cut down and eventually the Council reevaluated their TPOs and removed them from the other two which we quickly despatched and planted some nicer trees instead. There was a long period of removing thousands of the seeds from the gutters which they blocked, and pulling seedlings self seeded in the garden - I used to count them as I pulled them out and regularly got into the thousands. You have my sympathies Oldfrill. There is still one tree on the boundary and I do get the odd sapling springing up unnoticed initially in the borders which I then have to dig out.

Thank you Avalon - It's a house I was interested in buying, but there are a few concerns, including the sycamores, so I've walked away.

Glad to help OldFrill. The house would have to be really nice for me to buy it with a giant sycamore with a TPO in the middle of the lawn. Happy hunting and hope you find something suitable soon.

I have two huge sycamores growing in the garden backing onto me, scuppered my plans for veggie garden there, takes all light, and gifts me thousands of seedlings every year, grrrr!!!

I've learnt something as I wasn't aware that sycamores could have TPOs - I thought they were mostly regarded as weeds!

Our neighbour had several (!). An absolute nightmare, especially the seedlings that came up everywhere.
Cut down, remove, burn, poison, all of the above….

Very toxic to horses - many die every year due to ingesting seeds, saplings and leaves that blow onto their paddocks.

We have one behind our home in what was a school playing field ! It has become unruly and overshadows our tiny garden. Plus its roots are causing the old dry stone walls to begin to bow outwards.
I am onto our local council to either cull it, but it might have a TPO, or trim it right back. Other neighbours have no idea how invasive their helicopter type seedlings are. They are a sticky, nasty tree and before you pile on, I love trees just not these trees. 🌲

Gwyllt

Such fun Did you mention the honey dew that covers a car if anyone is daft enough to park under it. To add insult to injury there was a tree preservation order on it as apparently it was a fantastic shape as the canopy grew unhindered. Not my problem any more we moved

They’re a nightmare if you have one in your presumably large garden or a neighbouring one.
I don’t have a garden, just a yard with pots but a few streets away as I walk or cycle to work I pass one that must be 80ft high.They look lovely but must be so much work and spread easily, a bit like Ash trees.

I could never understand all the weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth about the Sycamore Gap tree tbh.

Oreo

I could never understand all the weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth about the Sycamore Gap tree tbh.

I could understand that particular tree because it was so iconic. What I couldn’t understand was people planting seedlings from it all over the place! Just kept thinking ‘ do you know what you’re doing’…

No they didn’t know what they were doing because they were over sentimental fools.

A wonderful English Oak could have been planted to replace it.

Oreo

A wonderful English Oak could have been planted to replace it.

Too slow growing. Did someone mention on here that Sycamores were introduced by the Romans to provide fast growing wood?

None in my garden. The woodland just behind my fence with loads of sycamore makes up for that. Yes, yoh will be constantly clearing leaves and seeds. Just about equal to the pine needles from all the conifers and leaves from the birch trees. There are a few oaks but I forgive them for the mess they create as relatively few of them and quite rare. The woodland looks lovely, provides great habitat for the birds, squirrels, rabbits and deer but come autumn drives me mad constantly trying to clear up the leaves etc.

MayBee70

Oreo

A wonderful English Oak could have been planted to replace it.

Too slow growing. Did someone mention on here that Sycamores were introduced by the Romans to provide fast growing wood?

It shouldn’t matter that it’s slow growing.

As we get older, it’s maybe a good idea to think about moving house if surrounded by too many trees, lovely to look at but constantly having to sweep up leaves, pollen and twigs makes life too difficult?

Thanks again everyone - my fears confirmed.

Yes, the Romans introduced them, they are not a native species.

We had one in a natural hedge at the back of the garden but had it cut to hedge height, so it does need topping every year. It didn't have a TPO but our neighbour has one which does.
Our ash tree also had to be chopped because it got ash dieback.

Trees are wonderful in the right place.,

I feel your pain, my garden is barely 7 metres from the back door to the back fence and there is a Field Maple in my neighbours garden which was a permanent battle against shade so nothing grew in my garden and the seeds which grow everywhere. When my new neighbours move in they made a concerted effort to cut it to a more manageable level, around 3 metres, yet within the space of this year it has branches growing more than 10 ft. They are both disabled so I don't want to harass them, but I can't manage the debris from the tree.

We had a five year battle to get rid of a beech belonging to the church next door. It was causing subsidence to our house but one of the issues was that it had a TPO. Even now several years later we’re still finding beech saplings growing in our borders.

Sycamores are weeds. However, I'm glad of the stand of huge sycamores which shield the view of a 3-storey car park which the borough council chose to put up opposite our house. I put up with sticky emissions and the seedlings and pretend the car park isn't there.

We had a lovely sycamore on our front drive but the neighbour’s insurer requested that we remove it. I do miss it but it was always se;f seeding on the front law.