Copper Beech

[njm]

Hi ,

Not my field so advice required  , 10 months ago my new neighbour approached me about trimming my 25 / 30 year old copper beech on there boundary line  i had no issue as it was agreed that it would be done while the tree was dormant in winter ,  said trimming was ok with no issues but 2 weeks ago in the middle of the hot spell they have now taken a second bash at the tree as apparently there garden requires more light for there enjoyment !   as can be seen there are now rather a lot of dead leaves on the trimmed side of the tree , if they continue will this cause permanent damage to my tree and should  the canopy be reduced this winter to try and keep the issue from escalating ?   Thanks in advance 

Edited July 29, 2018 by njm

[Treeation]

My thoughts would be that the removal of the outer, overhanging branches have now exposed the shade leaves (in the interior crown|) to direct full sun that may well be the cause to the browning off, as they have not adapted to take the full sun. Any further pruning works would be best in winter or when in a non drought summer. Bear in mind that this a young copper beech which has the potential to grow four times the size,

 

It might be more preferable to raise the crown (which will allow light to the ground floor level. This could be repeated in 5-10 years or so (a few metres every time - maybe 2m above fence level to start with and then to gutter level the second time) which will push the crown higher up. Crown reductions rarely increase much light penetration....and once initatied you will be repeating reductions every 5 or so years which will be quite a cost to bear for no real gain. You could also include a light crown thin too which would involve taking say 10% if the crown out in a systematic fashion as the same time as crown raising to allow a bit more light through but you shouldnt prune too heavy on beech as the the bark is sensitive to sun scorch.

[openspaceman]

3 minutes ago, Treeation said:

My thoughts would be that the removal of the outer, overhanging branches have now exposed the shade leaves (in the interior crown|) to direct full sun that may well be the cause to the browning off, as they have not adapted to take the full sun. Any further pruning works would be best in winter or when in a non drought summer.

That was my thought too but would still think summer pruning was better.

[Treeation]

Just now, openspaceman said:

That was my thought too but would still think summer pruning was better.

Cool, whats would be the reason you think it woud be better out of interest?

[stihlmadasever]

Repeated work will have to be performed on this tree to prevent it getting out of hand and prevention of neighbourly dispute.

Id seriously consider removal at this point as its just going to get bigger and cost you more long term.

Damn shame cause its a crackin tree but just in the wrong place.

[njm]

14 minutes ago, Treeation said:

My thoughts would be that the removal of the outer, overhanging branches have now exposed the shade leaves (in the interior crown|) to direct full sun that may well be the cause to the browning off, as they have not adapted to take the full sun. Any further pruning works would be best in winter or when in a non drought summer. Bear in mind that this a young copper beech which has the potential to grow four times the size,

 

It might be more preferable to raise the crown (which will allow light to the ground floor level. This could be repeated in 5-10 years or so (a few metres every time - maybe 2m above fence level to start with and then to gutter level the second time) which will push the crown higher up. Crown reductions rarely increase much light penetration....and once initatied you will be repeating reductions every 5 or so years which will be quite a cost to bear for no real gain. You could also include a light crown thin too which would involve taking say 10% if the crown out in a systematic fashion as the same time as crown raising to allow a bit more light through but you shouldnt prune too heavy on beech as the the bark is sensitive to sun scorch.

Yes i had considered having the crown raised as i can hardly walk under the branches at this time of year  ,  when the tree was planted by original house owner there was no housing to the side of the property  so the growth of the tree would not have been seen as an issue back then  , thanks 

[Mick Dempsey]

2 minutes ago, stihlmadasever said:

Repeated work will have to be performed on this tree to prevent it getting out of hand and prevention of neighbourly dispute.

Id seriously consider removal at this point as its just going to get bigger and cost you more long term.

Damn shame cause its a crackin tree but just in the wrong place.

Agreed, if it’s too big now when it’s young, it’s not going to get any better.

[njm]

4 minutes ago, stihlmadasever said:

Repeated work will have to be performed on this tree to prevent it getting out of hand and prevention of neighbourly dispute.

Id seriously consider removal at this point as its just going to get bigger and cost you more long term.

Damn shame cause its a crackin tree but just in the wrong place.

Tree has no affect on my property but the housing to the side was built well after the tree was a good size  , would be a shame to remove a healthy tree i would rather try and keep it  , the neighbour has had the land owner with a tree to the South of the property top his tree after complaining about lack of light  

[Mick Dempsey]

Heard it a thousand times.

[stihlmadasever]

4 minutes ago, njm said:

Tree has no affect on my property but the housing to the side was built well after the tree was a good size  , would be a shame to remove a healthy tree i would rather try and keep it  , the neighbour has had the land owner with a tree to the South of the property top his tree after complaining about lack of light  

As mick says we see this sort of situation alot.I agree its a crackin tree,in the wrong place though.

I stand by my original recommendation as this tree will just get bigget,cause more neighbourly friction and cost you more money to maintain it in the long run.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

[njm]

Just now, stihlmadasever said:

As mick says we see this sort of situation alot.I agree its a crackin tree,in the wrong place though.

I stand by my original recommendation as this tree will just get bigget,cause more neighbourly friction and cost you more money to maintain it in the long run.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

Cheers for all the advice it is appreciated