Any advice on Maidenhair

[tone123]

Hi All,

 

i have been recommended this site by a friend and am after some advice.

 

i am in the process of purchasing a new property and have had a building survey conducted. The surveyor has noted (although only quite loosely) of a tree in close proximity to the house. The property is based in essex (no jokes please!) and is built on heavy clay, less than ideal. My father in law is a structural engineer and having read the report has suggested that we treat the tree with more seriousness than the surveyor conveyed in his report.

 

I have researched the tree as far as google and my limited knowledge will allow. i understand the tree to be a Maidenhair. I am curious to know what sub species it is and so I have attached an image of the tree and of a leaf.

 

My father in law has suggested that we may call upon the expertise of an arborist to assess the risk, would anyone know as to how much i can expect to pay for a report.

 

As mentioned, I have researched the tree and the soil. Am i correct in my belief that although the tree is in close proximity it is the case that this particular species does not remove a high amount of moisture from the soil (in comparison to other species)?

 

Based on the images, could anyone hazard a guess as to the age of the tree?

 

Any advice that can be offered would be very much welcomed and appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

 

 

 

Tony

[se7enthdevil]

ginko biloba it is.

 

 

not the biggest tree in the world and don't think it will cause too many problems.

 

rough guess, 40 years max.

[woodyguy]

Agree with the age. They are a well mannered tree and good to live with. In the states and increasingly in UK they are a street tree, so not going to cause you any problems.

[Graham]

In their natural habitat Ginkgos favour wetter sites and can grow to large trees. I think there are some named varieties that don't grow as big but I have no idea if yours is one.

 

As for the soil situation you need to know if the clay is a shrinkable one.

[peatff]

I read they are a living fossil and have male and female trees and any trees in built up areas are usually male as the females smell rancid when producing ovules. They are alleged to live for thousands of years and to be the link between trees and ferns in prehistoric times.

[sloth]

PM sent

 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Arbtalk mobile app

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

new bulid, three stories, massive foundations, zero issues!

 

thats not legal advice, just an opinion

[Fredward]

Yeah make sure it's not a female tree, they aren't fun to have outside your house!

[Chris at eden]

Maidenhair it is. Its not a tree which is considered by NHBC in terms of water demand but that isn't that relevant. Even if you assumed it had low water demand its zone of influence would be 10m at least so its clearly close enough to be an issue in the right circumstances. Even shrubs and vines can cause damage on highly shrinkable soils. How old is the building? If you are on a clay soil get a tree report. Its worth spending a few hundred quid when you consider the cost of the investment you are about to make. Don't think that as it is a street tree it can't be a problem. There are loads of plane trees in London streets which cause subsidence.

[tone123]

new bulid, three stories, massive foundations, zero issues!

 

thats not legal advice, just an opinion

 

Hi,

 

Many thanks for all your help - sorry, I neglected to mention that the house was built in 1901....so not a new build......