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]

2 minutes ago, 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.

But if tree owner is willing to invest as he wants to keep the tree then cant see a problem with that as long as he is aware of the ongoing costs 

[stihlmadasever]

2 minutes ago, Treeation said:

But if tree owner is willing to invest as he wants to keep the tree then cant see a problem with that as long as he is aware of the ongoing costs 

Ive given my opinion as i see it.

Its not something im going to debate.

No offence intended treeation

Im out

 

[Treeation]

no worries none taken

[openspaceman]

57 minutes ago, Treeation said:

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

Because the tree can better react to wounds while active. In this situation it becomes a bit like a hedge which needs a couple of trims a year. The owner of the adjacent property has the right to remove anything trespassing over the boundary so the tree owner has no say in this. I suspect the tree owner will only have an issue if the "trespass" becomes actionable, by damaging the house, at which stage the costs of abating the nuisance will be down to him.

 

If the adjacent land owner isn't happy to keep trimming then I agree with MickD and stihlmad

[njm]

7 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

Because the tree can better react to wounds while active. In this situation it becomes a bit like a hedge which needs a couple of trims a year. The owner of the adjacent property has the right to remove anything trespassing over the boundary so the tree owner has no say in this. I suspect the tree owner will only have an issue if the "trespass" becomes actionable, by damaging the house, at which stage the costs of abating the nuisance will be down to him.

 

If the adjacent land owner isn't happy to keep trimming then I agree with MickD and stihlmad

Thanks everyone for all the advice  .

[tree-fancier123]

I'm no expert - but a road I work in has a big line of copper beech that were pollarded at about the size of yours, possibly bigger and the regrowth is now 4 to 6 inch diameter. Historically beech pollards were common, probably to get firewood. If you did it at Christmas as a kill or cure, you may end up with something you can take back to pollard knuckles at  major forks  by the top of the trunk every 3 years or so, and clear the trunk to suit your taste. Definitely try to initiate a pollard before a fell, such a beautiful colour.  If it was pollarded it may be possible to trim the regrowth after 3 to 5 years as a lollipop shaped beech hedge one tree long, annual trim

Edited July 29, 2018 by tree-fancier123

[stihlmadasever]

11 hours ago, EdwardC said:

The tree doesn't appear to be casting much shade on the neighbour. Rather the neighbours house is casting shade on the tree.

You do realise the sun moves...

so the shadow will move aswell.

[Stere]

How come the RHS says for major work on an overgrown  hedge cut in in winter if wounds heal best in summer?

 

I always thought winter prunning was best?

 

 

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=398

 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Might be interesting to see a shot from 180° (reverse angle) to gauge the size / scale of the garden within which the tree stands.  

 

If the garden is massive, or at least of sufficient scale to accommodate a large mature tree, then perhaps allowing to grow on to maturity (either with crown lift or pollards as previously suggested, or just left as is) might be the best way to go - although this might not 100% satisfy the neighbour. 

 

If the garden isn't massive, or the mature tree might cause 'issues' in terms of scale / size later, maybe consider reducing it down to form a hedge...??

 

Just floating that out there without seeking to disagree with any other comments - (nothings happened to piss me off yet today so I'm being uncharacteristically 'middle of the road!!')

 

 

[jmac]

I pruned a copper beach similar to yours quite hard years ago, just needs going over with the long reach hedge cutters once a year now.