Dances With Snails

One day I'll find out why they don't fell in active growing season here. I'll post it on a new thread for the sake of a view from abroad.

Hello Dan, I just got the new post today. it's not soft, just brown. The arborist here said that the limbs would likely have come down in a light wind next autumn if it had stayed there. By the way, do you have the same rule in the UK about not felling in the growing season unless it's an emergency? I'd be interested to know why it's not done.

Down. Today. Lasted through the storms. Wow. Just got permission from local council in time before the end of the dormant season, when it becomes more difficult to obtain permission until autumn. All's well that ends well.

Yes, I agree. An honourable bunch on the whole.

A good question. I didn't have the verbal agreement that we would wait till autumn and that the council would then give felling permission. But then the council emailed to say that on closer inspection they would not be able to agree to the felling in the autumn unless our co-owner - the mostly unresponsive limited company - agreed and signed it off too. Funny thing was, the guy who owns the limited company turned a day or three afterwards, cutting the grass downstairs (I don't think he did it at all last year). I went down and greeted him and got a bit of an earful that I could only guess the meaning of. Exit me and my dog for short walk. A bit later I went back to talk to him about the tree. I managed to understand from him that he will not sign the agreement to felling the tree. That he tried to have it felled himself ten years ago but was unable to, and now he wants nothing to do with it. That it's not dangerous, and that the neighbours do not mind it being there. (I'm not sure if that's true, they seemed to me quite keen to have it removed). I said that of course I could not take his signature. But that as it may be dangerous I would simply continue to try to have it removed. End of conversation. I have posted a registered letter to the local council requesting that they advise me on the appropriate course of action in this situation, and that they state their own point of view on the matter. Maybe they'll write something useful. That's all for now. I must say I felt very good for managing a conversation with a company director in Czech. If it falls, I'll try to post a photograph.

I thought I'd write a short update. Wrote to co-owner (a limited company) asking for signature agreeing to felling of tree. Nothing. Wrote to person who owns the limited company personally about it. Nothing. Wrote to local council, with application - but without co-owner's signature. Nothing until yesterday... Wrote to neighbour who's house is in path of tree. Informing of situation. Finally yesterday I went to the local council and spoke (with help) to the mayor in person, who came with his son, who is a forestry professional. They concluded that the tree will be ok until autumn, at which time they will give permission for felling. Our next door neighbour, who happened to be there when they came, also agreed to this. I then drank cider to celebrate this. Frankly, after a long time of sticking my neck out trying to get something to happen about this, I count this as a good result. The council and next door neighbour have now taken their share of responsibility. Of course, I hope the local tree surgeons are right, and that the tree will not fall until its felled in the autumn. But if it did fall, at least it would be clear that I have done everything I can. Thanks for reading this. Just had to type it out somehow. And Mark J - thanks to your off and on lass for the text.

Hi Nepia, this does give me an idea... There's another tree, bit bulkier and bigger i'd say, a birch, away the other side of the dodgy tree. If I could secure a rope or chain around the leaning tree up around the crotch area, and around low on the base of the healthy one, it seems like it would stop the sick tree from being able to fall towards the neighbours house. I don't honestly know if I'd be able to do this, it's just a thought. Appart from anything else I'm supposed to go on holiday in a couple of weeks and it would be nice to be able to go without having nightmares. Guess I'm looking to know if this is totally stupid. (And I am suspecting it is).

Thanks

Hi jfc, that sounds right - like a conservation area. Like I just wrote to answer Marc J though, snag is that the main other owner here mostly doesn't communicate, so it may not be possible to make the application properly - that is, in the name of all the owners. If it continues like that then it seems I have to wait for the tree to get to be imminently dangerous, and then get it cut down without the necessity of application. Question then becomes, how to know it's dangerous before it actually falls. Any thoughts on that???

Mark J - holy s**t! how did you do that? Online? It's good. I think I owe you a slivovice :) I think I will submit this. There might of course be a snag - the council might not accept the application unless I have the agreement of the other flat owners - which means the limited company who don't communicate. But who knows. I can try. It's kind of a perfect storm this situation ( hopefully without high winds...). But what I'm doing is basically jumping up and down and shouting at everyone I can see. I reckon that's the only chance of anything happening before the tree just drops. Today I see that the birch nearbye is greening up but this one isn't. That might turn out to be the solution. If it's dead I might not need permission...

Hi again and thanks for following this thread. Well i warned relevant neighbours after the last post. (Which was clearly appreciated). And wrote to the tree surgeon (writing is a lot easier than speaking). Reply from the tree surgeon - that the tree is not dangerous at this time, and that he has also checked this with another expert who has the same opinion. Therefor I must make official application to local authority. And so I initiated the process of getting agreement from the limited company that owns part of the building. In theory this could come through at any time. However it's reasonable - based on past experience - to expect no reply. I was given by a local the name of another arborist in the area. The quesion is whether to go for a second opinion. Was also advised not to, perhaps that it would show lack of faith in the first guy. I can't expect any answers from people here. But if anyone has a thought, please share it. I'm a bit paralyzed at the moment about this. I guess the exact questions is: when do I ask the second arborist for his opinion on the tree? Should I just cut the faffing and ask right now? (Or should the double checked opinion of the first guy stand as enough?) As I said, if anyone has a thought please share.

thank you all for your recent answers. I am acting as fast and intensively as possible.

thanks again all. Really appreciate this. Dan Maynard, thanks in particular for the specifics. Just reporting my findings: The stub in the main crotch looks like it was sawn off. It's been like that since I came here. I can't get close enough to really see how it is though. There are two stubs where the fallen branch in the photo could have come from. Both look rotten. One is about 3 or 4 feet from the main crotch. I suspect that the fallen bnanch is from a higher stump. That would mean that the stump nearer the crotch fell of in the past, and I don;t know how long ago. I got up there and sounded it with a lump hammer. Up around the crotch - and everywhere else on the trunk that i tried - sounded fine to me. Of course I'm not 100% sure what I'm listening for, but I think it can't be too bad. None of the birches around here are quite at the visible bud stage, but it will be coming almost any day I guess, so I'll be looking out for that. Well I did try to contact the non-communicative owner (in fact a Limited Company rather than a reclusive human). I think I'll give them a week, or two absolute max. Then if necessary I'll contact our local tree surgeon again and send him photos the fallen branch and stub, and deefinitley mention it if the tree's not budding. Hopefully he'll think it's a current threat and come along and take it down. Thing is that I only have one or two shots at getting a communication right here, or else there's s high chance that the person gives up on trying with me. There are very few foreigners around here, so people aren't used to people who speak bad Czech! I think it's a bit different in England where people are more used to foreigners. Which is to say - this info really helps. It will allow me to narrow down a bit what the conversation is likely to be, and prepare for that.

*I mean under the soil where it's been covered over.

ok, many thanks all for your answers. One point that I didn't make in the original question is: that the lean is something that has developed since I moved in here. It wasn't like that 4 years ago. Would people say that points to a rotting trunk?