RichSutherland

That's that then! haha

Hi - me again! The current owners of the property have had a quote from someone before that sounds a bit cheap to me, but he has quite good reviews. I'll call and discuss with him but he had a suggestion where the trunk was turned into seating. I was quietly wondering if there was a use for the tree trunk - given the honey fungus, is this a terrible idea or actually could it be a good idea as I read that dead wood can prevent the fungus from spreading? Thanks!

Thanks all! Going to get a couple of quotes (not looking forward to seeing the figures) and will just try and keep an eye on nearby trees to make sure they're healthy. Will need to all be discussed with the council, as it has a TPO, Jerry said they will want a new tree planted - we would too of course, but not sure how flexible they are if there is honey fungus, or perhaps it is an argument to choose a tree species that is more resilient to it, like a Yew? This has been a deeper dive into trees than I ever thought I would do!

Thanks! RHS website almost maks me feel like it will kill everything nearby!

Should I be very concerned that this disease is there? This is a fully mature large Beech tree, I imagine removing all of the roots is next to impossible.

Thanks Kevin - sorry to keep triggering new topics To be honest we really wouldn't want a big dead tree stump right at the front of the house anyway, also as part of the TPO we may be required to plant another (although we would want to do this ourselves regardless).

Hi All, We asked Jerry Ross, who was recommended by Cobbs Tree & Estate (thank you) on this thread, to complete a survey and he has just sent an update over by email. Unfortunately the tree is 2/3rds dead and definitely needs to come down. It also has traces of honey fungus which he says potentially could spread to the other mature Beech tree, to minimise the chances of this the stump should be grinded down. I've just sent the bad news over to the estate agents to pass on to the owners, hopefully we can take on responsibility for this financial burden together and get the issue resolved, but it's pretty sad news. I was wondering if there are any recommendations in the Hereford area for surgeons to quote to cut the tree back and grind the stump out. Traffic management will definitely be needed so looking for someone who can factor that in. Ideally would like a couple of reputable people to quote to satisfy both us and the current owners as I expect it will not be cheap. Appreciate any help/recommendations! Thanks, Rich

Absolutely - will do!

Absolutely - thanks!

Ah of course, I'm a guest in this house and I've found all of the information interesting and incredibly valuable - if it sparks a secondary debate then I don't mind I will absolutely get a report done and will follow the advice of the people on this thread. Thanks

Ah no worries Sorry just trying to give as much information from my side as possible - there does seem to be a very valid side discussion going on as well!

I'm not sure what the root zone would be but hopefully the tree is far away enough that the house build didn't impact it. The drive is also not tarmac or anything, just stone chippings but of course I have no idea what it looked like prior to what is there currently so I am not in any way dismissing the observation that root damage has happened!

Sorry - maybe more specifically to my case, I know the drive was at least there in 2011 in its current form from Google maps which says when the images were taken at the bottom. At least in this case it is definitely at least 10 years old but probably older.

Thank you very much - we would invest money to save the tree if it stands a good/realistic chance. If it doesn't stand a chance then we would definitely be looking at planting a new mature tree. I would very much be coming back to this forum for advice in such a case as so far the information/discussion has been invaluable! My understanding is this variety of tree is very slow growing so we'd certainly be looking for a variety that we can buy in as large a size as possible and which will, as you say, make an impact as soon as possible.

This is really sad to hear - sorry I'm completely new to this forum, are you someone who can do an arb report? Was the drive not done when the house was built around 2005 or was it done more recently? The drive seemed to be as is back in 2011 at least (as per images from google maps). I thought the tree looked perhaps like it had an infection rather than was dead based on looking at it. Does it not all bloom? I think we'd ideally like to get a specialist in and see if there is anything we can do to save it. Even if we have to cut some off, get rid of ivy and improve ground conditions somehow.

Thanks so much, the property is just outside Hereford.

Thanks all - this is making me think there is hope and that the tree doesn't actually need to come down. I'm attaching the only images I've got of the tree, the original images are quite high quality so you can zoom in but not sure if the upload will drop the quality. The surveyor thought it was no threat to the house because of the distance I suppose (at least not at present size). Forgive my ignorance - is an Arb report something special or is it just to have a tree surgeon look at it (as I've arranged for a tree surgeon to go look). If not a tree surgeon, who would I google to have one carried out? Thanks! Rich

Also sorry, just to clarify we're not concerned for the mortgage valuation - the surveyor who flagged it to us said it represented no danger to the house, but as it overhangs a public road it is dangerous. He didn't even know the tree had an infection which assuming it does from these images could compromise its strength?

Hi All, Thanks so much for the responses! We know already cutting it back will be expensive, the money is a big factor but actually at the moment our biggest worry is that it indeed needs to be cut down at all - we really love it and feel that it adds a lot of character to the property (the house is actually called Beech House). It is a very mature tree, perhaps 20 meters tall and provides some lovely shade and privacy to the front. We'd be so sad to cut it down, but the concern is that someone has already looked at it and flagged it has an infection and so we're just very concerned now that not only are we likely to need to pay thousands to cut it down but it will also make the property a little worse in doing so. Does anyone recognise the disease from the images? We'll definitely keep investigating but it has both me and my wife quite sad this weekend and worried for the other large Beech tree 10-15 meters away from it. Thanks, Rich

Hi All, We are in the process of buying a house and there are some beautiful Beech trees out the front. Our surveyor said they could do with cutting back so I called a local tree surgeon to get a quote and a colleague of his was familiar with one of the trees and said it had an infection and would likely need to come down. It overhangs a main road and so we are keen to know where we stand before the sale completes and costs etc. We were really sad to hear this news as it is a beautiful old tree and it adds a lot of character to the house. I was wondering if there may be any way to save it - I've taken a picture, not sure if this is Beech Bark disease. Whatever it is can it spread to other trees nearby? Any advice or information would be appreciated. Thanks, Rich