Welcome to the Tree Forum - the more tree lovers out there the better!
I love that white-barked birch! If it were me, I MIGHT take down the elm, since it looks a bit sickly, but not without trying to restore it to health first. And I'd certainly leave that gorgeous big maple - I'd much rather have it than the shrubs, whatever they are, but, of course, it's your yard. They did plant them in an odd place!
I had 4 or 5 big trees leaning on my house after the hurricane, and no big harm was done, only minor repairs were necessary. But then I have a metal roof, and they're stronger than regular shingles.
Sherry

Concerns about condition of large trees can be addressed by hiring a certified arborist or two to come and have a look.

I agree that the Betula is quite handsome without the leaves. The branch structure is lovely.

That elm looks like a beech to me! ;^)

+oM

Hello, welcome. Your birch is quite stunning!

since wisconsitom mentioned it, your tree's bark does look like a beech. Beech does not like disturbance too much, can you give us an idea on how much of the root system was damaged? Depending on the amount of damage it might be a reason for concern.

Thank you for the welcomes :)

I already have gotten a call from a company that the previous homeowner used to care for the trees on the property. They said they came to spray every year... I didn't know this was common practice (or this could be a line!). As you can see, I need to learn quite a bit about them. I haven't checked them out yet or their 'credentials'. If they're not certified arborists, I shouldn't use them?

I actually do plan on taking all those shrubs out and either transplanting them or giving them to my parents. I've read that it's hard to get anything to grow under a Maple so I think I'll keep the berm and do some kind of ornamental planting. And mulch under the Maple, if there is some way to keep it.

My concern with the Maple is the falling branches as a bad sign. It's not just a few of them, but the canopy still seems pretty dense. One of the first things 2 of my new neighbors asked me is if we're taking it down. I have two elderly neighbors that are in the line of the tree, should it come down in a storm. One of the branches fell and damaged someone's car although I'm not clear who's car it was.

So my Elm might be a Birch, huh? Serves me right, listening to the cesspool guys. It's just not their specialty. lol I'll try to get some leaves from fall to identify it.

This is a not-so-good picture of the trench they dug along one side of the tree:

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This one is to give you an idea of how close the digging came to the tree, which is on the right:

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I'm sure I have some better pictures at home, I told you I was picture crazy! If it's really not a danger to my house or my neighbors, I actually would like to keep it. The fences that are in that picture are getting removed, along with the section of driveway that used to be right next to it. I just thought it was prudent, it being so close to my house.

I'll check it out with an arborist too but do you think it might be a worry?

If I'm seeing what I think I might be, it looks as if they dug within a few feet of the trunk of the tree all the way along one side of the tree. IF that's the case, probably a third or more of the tree's root structure was removed. Removing one or two larger roots on a tree that size is usually not a problem, but taking away all the roots on one side of a tree would definitely not be good! If that's what happened, you should get someone to take a look very quickly before the tree ends up crashing down in a good wind.

As to the company asking about spraying the trees, why (besides getting some of your money) are they spraying? I'd definitely question that deal.

Yes, you're seeing correctly. I've found some names and addresses of certified arborists in my area, there are many! I just wonder what the cost will be for them to come out and have a look. I know the landscaping companies charge nothing for estimates but I worry that's because they'll just say it needs to come down since it means money in their pockets.

When the landscaping company called, I told them that I'm a gardener and would be handling my own mowing, pruning, landscaping, etc.. That's when he copped an attitude and said Mr. Smith (previous homeowner) used us for years for more than just landscaping. He said, are YOU going to spray your trees? I said, I wasn't aware they required spraying. He launches into this lecture about bugs and moths and stuff. I said, I'll look into it and get back to you.

Obviously, with his attitude, I'm not calling them!

Losing that much of its root might or might not be the reason it's dropping limbs - I think you really need a good arborist. Your situation is so different from mine, I can't really give you a good answer. Out here in the country, my trees can shed their branches in normal fashion, and I just pick them up and put them in the burn pile or occasionally use them in my version of landscaping. The chances of a limb actually falling on somebody is probably remote, even in your situation, but then I don't know how many people actually walk near the maple. If people park cars close enough to the tree that the limbs could fall on them, then I guess somebody could sue you.
If you lose the tree, maybe you should only plant real small trees or bushes anywhere near your property line - anything that gets big could pose a threat.
Sherry

Beech-not birch! Two different things.

You are correct to be suspicious of the former tree-care guys. I would not even consider them if they're so uninformed as to still be doing the "preventative" spraying thing. Very much a thing of the past, and a bad one at that.

People get quite disturbed that their tree is going to come crashing down any minute now. I can't promise you it won't (The maple) but it is most unlikely. What's more probable is a slow demise of the side of the tree where roots were cut leading to branch die-back there. I'd definitely get an up to date arborist, spend a few dollars, and get some good info.

+oM

Bugs and moths are natural parts of an ecosystem. Unless there is a rare severe outbreak, there is absolutely no reason to spray trees. Complete elimination of insects is unnecessary and unwanted. No tree spraying happens in my area at all, but trees are not dropping dead. DonÂt spray, its not needed, and donÂt let someone who is trying to sell you the service convince you otherwise.

We had a cottonwood that had its roots trenched farther away than your maple, and it declined until it kicked the bucket a year or so ago. It never fell but suffered a slow decline.

Trees do drop old and dead branches, what goes up must come down, really. Some branch drop is not really cause for concern, but then again I have cottonwoods and they like to drop branches all the time.

Heres a little site about the beech tree you see planted alot.

Here is a link that might be useful: European Beech

Bugs and moths are a very natural part of the ecosystems. For one thing, they are food for the birds! Non-native pests (like the gypsy moths) can be a problem, but until you know you have problems, spraying is killing lots of good things. You're right, I would not use him ... sounds like he is just out to make money.

Good for you!

The tree near your house with the smooth bark is most likely a Beech. I would have it evaluated as there seems to be a lot of dead wood in it. If it is health I would just have an arborist clean up the dead wood in it. Beech can live a very long time.

David

If you have hemlocks, those get sprayed for wooly adelgid, unless you intend to remove them fairly soon. The usual recommendation is horticultural oil, and it's a perfectly reasonable thing for a homeowner to do unless the trees are too tall to reach the top of. But that's really the only thing I'd automatically spray for.

Oops, I meant Beech, not Birch! lol As you can see, I have a lot to learn.

The Maple is sandwiched between my driveway and the roadway. People will park beneath it's canopy on the street, I know I did the first time I visited the house. Not to mention, my car is underneath it daily.

I will definitely contact an arborist to see what can be done for both trees. I try my best to garden organically so spraying a bunch of chemicals around is not something I'm interested in. I suppose that was just his standard rebuttal, one that rolled of his tongue very easily. I'm sure he'll keep calling and calling me, so I'll have an opportunity to tell him what I think soon enough.

The smooth bark tree, initally your elm, looks like a type of red oak....possibly Pin Oak(Quercus palustris)

Round and round we go! I'm sticking with beech. American beech. Does the tree have oval leaves or are they incised? A look at the leaves, or a leaf, would clear this up in a hurry.

+oM

You can see it has smooth bark in the picture. The bark does look like a Beech, which very likely it is. Another possibility is a Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), they can have smooth bark on at least some parts of the trunk, the rest is warty looking. But can't be 100% sure without some close ups of leaves or bark etc.

Hehe, greenfreak, when your arborist stops buy, have them id your trees too because we cant agree what it is either!

Oooh a debate. I love it.

I think I'm about to decide it though...

Check out all the leaves at the base of this shrub I took a picture of. Looks like Conifer50 is the front runner in this debate. I can confirm that they came from the tree in question, which turned red in fall:

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I do have other pictures of the tree from November, I'll try to zoom in and get a clear and sharp picture of the leaves.

If it is the tree to the right of the backhoe in the picture above then that is a oak, you can tell by the bark of that tree which I just now noticed. It would likely be a Pin Oak, Scarlet, or Black Oak from the leaves in the picture above. The picture of the full view looked like smooth beech bark because of the lighting and poor resolution detail of the bark I think.

good call, Conifer50! Those are oak leaves all right.

Looks like Conifer is the winner here... But for your positive ID, a pic from fall and a few from tonight of the bark.

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Thanks again everyone. Still waiting for an answer from an arborist... We'll see what can be done!

I'm not sure if it is true in all parts of the contry but I was told by a lawyer friend that if a tree does indeed drop branches and causes damages to someone else's property or heaven forbid a person, you will be held responsible. If there is already a problem with falling branches, your insurance company will most likely deny any claims and the other person involved could sue you personally. For this reason, I would call someone out asap to take a look at the tree dropping the branches.

We had a very large, old boxwood elder that was dropping limbs over a foot across that the arborist recommended we take down. It was completely hollow inside and crawling with carpenter ants no to mention the swarms of elder beetles. It was an grand old tree but the cost of harming others was too risky. Hopefully, your tree can just be trimmed by a professional and saved.

Not all areas have the same laws concerning trees, but in my area, any of my neighbor's trees that are close enough for their branches to grow over my property, those branches become my responsibility. Any damage such branches do to my property, or to anyone on my property who get hurt under those branches puts me at risk of being sued, or responsible to pay for my damaged property.

A few months back we had almost a week of off and on freezing rain that collected on the trees, and broke at least some of almost everyone in the area's trees.

At that time city officials reported that if a person's tree fell on his or her neighbor's house or other property and caused costly damage, then under our local laws, the owner of the tree did not have to pay for the damages or even have to pay to have the tree removed from the neighbor's damaged house or other property.

That seems totally wrong, to me. If that indeed is true, then it's my opinion that, in such a case, any neighbor should also have the right to cut down, or prune more of his neighbor's tree than just the parts which are spreading over the property line.

Update... Good news and bad news for me.

Bad news is, while walking my lot last weekend, looking at my trees, I found quite a bit more damage to my Japanese Maple that I hadn't seen before. I knew there were a few branches with no leaves and stripped bark that I was going to prune. And some bark that split but had healed over the years. But then I walked around the back and found cracks all the way down the trunk. :(

I posted at the Maple Forum with pictures of the worst damage. This really saddens me. It's in a bad spot, I know it is.

The good news is that a certified arborist I found from treesaregood.com (thanks again for the recco!) is coming either today or tomorrow to give me an estimate on what can be done with all my trees.

Wish me luck, and thanks for reading! :)

How do you folks include personal pictures? I have tried copying and pasting but it doesnt work.