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

[Mick Dempsey]

21 minutes ago, njm said:

We live in a very rural location many gardens have a decent size of tree it is part of the character of the village , we also have a few incomers who would rather have a flat concrete landscape  !!!

Over the past 10 years i have had the top branches of the tree trimmed back on the neighbours side any time they were approaching the roof or side of there building . the previous owner and myself had no issue over the tree and there was never any complaint  . 

 

Cutting the branches that reached over his property and approached his buildings isn’t a big thing really, he’s within his rights to trim back to the boundary any time he pleases (without checking with you) summer or winter  (short of spraying the branches with poison of course)

Also, that the previous neighbour had no issues is irrelevant, he bought the house off the guy, not his tastes re. light views etc.

So he’s an incomer? Sounds like that’s his real crime.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2018 by Mick Dempsey

[njm]

5 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Cutting the branches that reached over his property and approached his buildings isn’t a big thing really, he’s within his rights to trim back to the boundary any time he pleases (without checking with you) summer or winter  (short of spraying the branches with poison of course)

Also, that the previous neighbour had no issues is irrelevant, he bought the house off the guy, not his tastes re. light views etc.

So he’s an incomer? Sounds like that’s his real crime.

 

 

 Did i say the neighbour was an incomer ?  they have lived in the village for some time  , as for me i am an incomer only lived in the village for 12 years .  

No big deal to cut the branches as you say  but it was a considerate gesture to save my neighbour the cost of getting this done  ,possibly why there was no issues before hand   my tree at the end of the day  .

There are a good few moving into rural areas and leveling everything in sight  why move to the country and replicate the concrete jungle you have just moved from ?  each to there own i suppose ..

[Mick Dempsey]

Thing is, obviously I don’t really care one way or the other, but in the interests of the debate...

 

I visit and quote many jobs per year, for the last 23 years, many of them to do with neighbourly conflicts.

 

I have listened to countless stories about why this or that person is unreasonable.

been perched in a tree while one person says lower while the guy in the next garden says higher like a bloody game show.

 

Reading your posts it seems to me (and after countless similar conversations over the years) your motivation is how to annoy the neighbour as much as possible but disguising it by appearing to be a considerate tree lover.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2018 by Mick Dempsey

[daltontrees]

22 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Reading your posts it seems to me (and after countless similar conversations over the years) your motivation is how to annoy the neighbour as much as possible but disguising it by appearing to be a considerate tree lover.

 

 

Funny, after reading the whole thread I never got that impression about OP's motives at all. What a lot to read into someone's desire to avoid the unnecessary loss or damage of a tree...

 

Standard Arbtalk thread here, someone asks a question and no-one answers it, off they go on various interesting entertaining or caustic tangents. So what was the original question?

" 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 ? "

 

Someone's already said, Copper Beech inner leaves are sensitive. Hard pruning can result in scorch. But I can't see an established tree being killed. The idea of permanent damage is vague, yes the cutting back to the boundary will permanently affect the branch structure at the boundary but it probably won't kill the tree.

 

And as has also been said, the neighbour doesn't need permission to cut to the boundary, so it's a moot question.

 

If OP gets it that this isn't really an issue, he can let the boundary be cut like a hedge forever. Then the need to reduce the canopy in winter isn't really a need. Personally I'd give the tree a break this winter.

 

From what I can see of the pictures and situation, I'd let it go and maybe next summer of the tree has flushed fully I would consider a voluntary crown reduction (particularly height) and resign myself to maintaining the tree at about its current height and spread for the foreseeable. Small and regular cuts to a Beech are sutainable in the long term, big drastic cuts disfigure, decay and shift the hormone distribution in ways that it is hard to predict by the inexperienced.

 

I don't see the need to infer passive-aggressive motives. It's a question of physiology and common law. The OP appears a reasonable person just trying to understand a novel situation. Nothing wrong with asking.

[Mick Dempsey]

Possibly not, but a man needs a hobby. 

 

The line “apparently they want more light in their garden for their enjoyment!” Particularly caught my eye and raised questions about his motives.

 

No one took offence, certainly not the OP, and it raised issues that arise everyday, ie. Is “our” client (the one that pays the money) to be sided with (and their motives believed) at all times.

 

Sure, the thread could have been over in two posts with a factual response to the OP, 

 

 

If you think passive aggressive on here is bad try FB arbtalk. Besides this isn’t a homeowner asking the pros, it’s another arbtalker.

 

I was hoping for a “A Few Good Men” moment but my Tom Cruise isn’t up to scratch.

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2018 by Mick Dempsey

[daltontrees]

On 06/08/2018 at 11:00, Mick Dempsey said:

Possibly not, but a man needs a hobby. 

 

The line “apparently they want more light in their garden for their enjoyment!” Particularly caught my eye and raised questions about his motives.

 

 

Yerwhot? He agreed to pruning, which I believe was done in his preferred winter, and was concerned only that the neighbour had done it again but in summer, and was asking if he should further reduce " to try and keep the issue from escalating". Really quite the opposite of using the tree to annoy the neighbour.

 

I have experienced FB Arbtalk briefly and have no intention of going there again. Rude, ignorant, foul, aggressive, unhelpful, with ocasional outbreaks of tree related subject matter. Almost devoid of constructive debate and learning.

[stihlmadasever]

10 hours ago, daltontrees said:

have experienced FB Arbtalk briefly and have no intention of going there again. Rude, ignorant, foul, aggressive, unhelpful, with ocasional outbreaks of tree related subject matter. Almost devoid of constructive debate and learni

Thats what makes it fun....?

There are sime decent posts on their now and again.

Tommy tree hutchison posts some informative stuff regular.

You just pick your posts to comment on wisley

[westphalian]

I’m joining [emoji8]. For what it's worth Mick I don't see you as passive aggressive.

 

just aggressive

Edited August 8, 2018 by westphalian

[Mick Dempsey]

46 minutes ago, westphalian said:

I’m joining . For what it's worth Mick I don't see you as passive aggressive.

 

just aggressive

Get stuffed!

[westphalian]

I think there is a vacancy in the Trump administration Diplomatic Corps if you are interested