There are five trees/shrubs around this house that are planted very close to it. Should they be removed? If so, what would be an appropriate method for removal? Would cutting them short be enough?
1 Answer
It depends on what the owner wants. Certainly none is large enough to cause structural damage if it fell. If there are some leaves and twigs rubbing painted surfaces ,that could be a problem. I would, and do ,prune any that may rub paint. Also any branches that may fall on aerial wires; eg. electric , phone, cable, etc, although none are apparent.
-
Don't trees planted so close present problems other than structural damage by falling? Some that I had concerns about: 1 - roots altering the foundation, especially when trees grow larger (if I need to cut the tree down in 5-10 years, I would rather cut it now and plant a new one further away). 2 - need to trim a lot on one side (facing the building) and very little on the other side of trees, making it unbalanced and, potentialy, unstable. Are those valid concerns? Oct 16, 2020 at 9:29
-
Cut down whatever you want if it is your house. I have cut 3 and 4 " roots at the foundation and it made no difference to large oak or southern pine trees. I doubt if heavy pruning on one side of trees that size would make any difference. I plant any trees over 4 ft. from the foundation and they still require more pruning than I want to do. Oct 16, 2020 at 15:11