How far are they from your house?

If they are over 20 feet I believe I would let the sweet gum grow a few more years and then take it out. The Oak looks like a very nice tree that will provide a lot of shade in that area of your yard so I don't think I would take it out.

If you take them out in the next couple of years, they are small enough you can take them out by yourself. If you are young you could do it with a Bow saw. If you are not so young, I would rent a chainsaw.

OR

It looks like the area you live and possible your yard has a lot of big threes, so if you don't have a chain saw you may wish to purchase one. If you do I would suggest one of the larger electrics, then you will not have to worry about oil/gas mixtures. You can pick it up, extend the drop cord to the tree needing trimmed, and do the job without worrying about trying to start a gas engine that has been sitting in your garage for the last two years

They are both definitely within 20 feet I would say. The part of the house that is close to these trees are garage and connected shed, but still.

I don't dislike the willow oak now, but how fast do they grow? I am worried about having another large oak around the house, we had arborist take town a huge oak that was in the front yard and shading the entire area because we hated it. This part of the garden is mostly shady for other reasons anyways though. Getting rid of these two trees would give them some morning sun I think.

We do have an electric chain saw. So sounds like these wouldn't be too large to take down ourselves? We are a young couple, I am 7 month pregnant, but my hubs would be up to the job :).

That sounds like a good excuse to have the husband do it for you. ;-)

When we have things like this I have found that if you cut them into fireplace links and put them in the front yard with a sign "free to good home" they will quickly disappear.

If you do a lot of gardening and need mulch, you may consider renting a chipper shredder. They are a little over 100 for 4 hours or less than 200 for a day. If you go that way do all of your trimming first to make the best use of the time. You may talk to the neighbors and make it a community effort.

willow oak is an edangered species...atleast in PA. I would keep that....sweetgum are a bit messy..

How long have you been in this house? I'd seriously recommend living there a year before making major landscaping decisions based on personal taste.

We have been here for past year and half so not long at all. I am a total newbie too so maybe you are right, I should wait a year longer. I am not planning to do anything major to this area anyways till fall at earliest. I have plenty of other areas in the garden to attend to (our house had almost nothing planted when we moved, and I knew nothing about it.) that I am busy with - i.e. front garden, west facing one, north facing one ,etc, etc. plus babies!

We will probably get rid of the sweet gum this year or later before it gets too big. I hate those pesky little fruits! I am always afraid that my little one will fall on them. Maybe Willow oak will be good to stay, we will see....

I am a honeowner who has removed a few trees.

Watching, feeling, them big branches hit the ground is impressive.

Be careful.

One of my money saving methids with a tree which overhung the house too much was to have the company take it down and leave the mess for me to clean up with my saw and hard labor

That willow oak is a beauty, I wouldn't take that down

So conflicted! I checked yesterday again and realized that willow oak is probably within 10-15ft of our garage and shed. Very close! No issue now but I definitely would be worried when tree is twice as tall. How fast do they grow?

I'm sure my friend viburnumvalley would be disappointed if I didn't weigh in and say..."Remove that d@mned sweetgum and dose the stump liberally with Tordon". lol

Willow oak endangered in PA? Surprising, but I googled around, and it's so. Perhaps one of my least favorite oaks, but some folks like 'em - they're certainly widely planted in urban landscapes here in The South.

lucky_p:

I googled too! It does seem that it is endangered in PA but not here in VA. I have nothing against this tree - just afraid it is too close to the house and I might regret if we don't cut it down while we still could without paying lots of $$$. Everything is expensive in Northern Virginia....

I think Sweet gum is gonna have to go soon, and it is manageable size to cut and toss to the back of our yard where we don't use. or chop up, etc. We are already sick of cleaning up the fruits from the large one that our neighbor has!!

willow oak is probably within 10-15ft of our garage and shed.

That means the neighbor's huge sweet gum is quite close to your house?

Yes, that one is definitely very close to our house as well. It's right outside our properly line and we get quite a few of the fruits on our property. Probably within 10-15 ft. It is pretty well sheltered between the two houses it seems like - should I be more worried about that one? Our neighbor (who we don't really talk to because they don't seem interested in talking..) does nothing in the garden. Backyard is full of weeds as tall as me, and they mow literally once a year, and rake once a year.

Hey, I found an interesting article about Virginal Supreme court ruling on tree nuisance.

"The court ruled last week that if your neighbor's tree poses a danger to your house, you can force the neighbor to prune or even fell the tree."

Just so you know that you may have a right to ask for the neighbor's tree removal if it actually harms your property's foundation, pipes, etc. in the future.

But the article says "casting shade or dropping leaves, flowers, or fruit" doesn't count as this type of nuisance.

The dispute on the article was also on a sweet gum. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Washington Post Article

This post was edited by ttonk on Fri, May 10, 13 at 17:18

Why the hurry to remove the Willow oak? I didn't see any mention of disease, am I wrong? Your house will be cooler in summer from the shade and save you $$$$$ on AC for the spring/summer. The tree limbs at this point probably couldn't harm your house if they fell now anyway. I wouldn't worry unless the overhanging branches were of substancial size or weight. Just my input.

"Too close to the house" isn't an absolute distance, but more of a cultural thing. People who grew up in established towns in the east are used to large trees close to houses. Unless the tree is diseased or damaged in some way, or is a notoriously brittle species, there basically is no such thing as too close. People from the midwest seem to have a totally different sensibility about trees.

When I lived near Philadelphia, I heard rumors of people carrying insurance policies on particular large trees because the tree was a substantial part of the property value of their lot. Removing the tree would make the house noticeably less valuable.

10-15 ft from house is actually a large distance, I wouldn't cut down the willow oak. If you have small children, will be a nice memory for them to have as they grow up.

That small sweet gum could be removed to give more space to the willow oak though

There is another reason of keeping the Oak. The neighbors oak is some years old. While healthy things happen.

If it does come down the oak would be a nice backup for both you and your neighbors.

PS is it as close to the neighbors house as it appears.

Can you get the neighbor to discuss all trees in this area and manage the total area together?

Yeah, lose the sweet gum. The willow oak is more durable & attractive to boot, IMO.