I live in a row home and my neighbor has a tall tree about a foot in front of their porch. Basically if that tree falls my porch will probably be hit. They claim they don't like the tree but have no immediate plans to remove it.

My mom & Step dad have oak trees all around there house. My mom wants them cut down but step dad doesn't. Acorns have put holes in the shingles of there house roof... When a bunch fall at once sounds like the roof is caving in...lol

Personally I never planted anything at the side of our house because neighbor had two pine trees blocking the sun BUT two years ago they cut those both down so yipppp eeeeeeeeeee!

So right now there is nothing I wish my neighbors should do....

Neighbor behind us planted a Xmas tree as it was cool to do that years ago. Now it's 30' wide and showers us in pine needles....of which I use to mulch around some of the roses.

I often think, what will happen in a nice wind storm. I also wonder what would take it out on the sly.... :-) Maybe a few gallons of salt water laced with Round-up.

If there is nothing wrong with a tree and the wind blows it over onto your home the insurance companies will not pay as it's an act of God. However, if it's got problems (dead limbs/dying etc) then they will.... So it's not a win/win for either of you if it's healthy.

I rather think that a healthy does of religion while growing up. That no ill deed goes unpunished. Kept me out of trouble. :-) :-)

I wish my neighbors hadn't planted "fruitless olives" along the rear property line between us. With olives, "fruitless" simply means whispier, floppier limbs with a fraction of the quantity of "fruit" compared to the "fruiting" kind. They have extensive, invasive roots and drop copious litter, including olives. Gravel is an extremely popular landscaping material in this area. It extends the length of the property from front public sidewalk to the rear block wall along that property line. There are MANY mummified olives in the gravel and the Toy Fox Terrors ADORE them, constantly bringing them into the house to grind into dust and leave on the floors. I also wish there wasn't an enormous English Walnut behind and below the back yard. It doesn't leaf out and bear fruit until mid to late summer here and that's when the legions of crows attack the tree and begin dropping walnuts all over the yard and neighborhood. Walnut shells, another TFT delicacy. And, I wish the City had not planted the two, awful, enormous Washingtonias (California TRASH palm) as street trees in my front yard 30+ years ago. But, all else is as perfect as could be hoped for, so I live with these issues and focus on all the good parts instead.

Interesting.....I had no idea there was so much tree phobia around.

My neighborhood (and my yard ) are old, so there are 100 year old Black Walnut street trees, as well as sycamores, elms, and other types of street trees just as big. We have two scarlet oaks on our property which are at least 5 stories tall, as well as a eugenia ditto. In our hot, dry, summers the trees provide shade which is essential to everyone's comfort. I used to take the bus to work, and walking home, when I got to the blocks of our old neighborhood with the huge trees, you could feel that the temperature dropped at least 15-20 degrees.

Our trees are full of wildlife, including bird nests in the Spring - I love them. Even the mature "weed tree" privet provides huge amounts of berries which flocks of gorgeous cedar waxwings come every year to feast on. Even my roses appreciate their shade part of the day, so the roses do not fry in what can be 90-100 degree temps in the summer.

Jackie

Trees are great for wildlife that's for sure... But sometimes trees are just planted in the wrong locations... Like I see peoples sidewalks breaking up from massive tree roots... etc. etc.

Century-plus old soil is also tremendously different from thirty-odd year old engineered soil. It's deeper, provides somewhere for the water (and roots!) to go, so there aren't the issues of roots running just under the surface of the soil/sod, lifting walls, foundations, fences, etc. and forming mats of dense, competitive growth in the zone the plants you want to plant have to occupy. Plus, you've traditionally had multiples of the rainfall totals received south of you, which has encouraged the roots to follow the water lower into the soil, as well as provide both the resources required to make that wondeful leaf litter your area has enjoyed and enable the flora and fauna to actually build soil. Those are benefits not enjoyed in drier areas.

a 12 foot ficus hedge that is decimated and mostly defoliated from whitefly.... they don't treat it so the nasty little insects come over and munch on roses.

Hee hee, one of the benefits of trees I forgot to mention. Here is a pic of my DH - those leaves are only the last half of what he cleared from our front lawn 3 days ago. The scarlet oak responsible (that is its trunk in the background) is still half covered with leaves, so my DH will do this again when they come down in a week or so. He shreds the leaves, and then they go into a compost thingy he made from the old very large cast in place concrete incinerator way at the back of our lot - also now over 100 years old. First, of course, he had to take out the shredded leaves from last year, which he puts into bags for me to use as mulch (yay!). Sometimes they have made it all the way to fine compost, but even if they have not, they are great for mulch.

Jackie

Jackie, I surprised that you can use black walnut as a mulch.... nothing seemed to grow around my aunts... acidic? or something.... though I bet you get to make yummy cookies.... the only walnuts I can find are the English ones, which isn't my cup of tea.

That is not a black walnut tree - that is a scarlet oak. The black walnut trees near us are street trees. I have heard also that nothing grows under them, but I have planted roses and bulbs, etc. which are in beds under them, and they grow just fine, so I have been confused about that.

Jackie

I'd imagine that's due to several mitigating factors not experienced where the original experiences were reported. Very little are "absolutes".

I also experience no problems with plants or roses living within the root zone of black walnut trees. The falling walnuts that are the size of soft balls are a problem. We had one cut down as on windy days the falling walnuts broke a window. They were also hitting the roof. I miss the leaves.

Back in the day they probably didn't have many choices of trees to plant. Most in our town are of the huge nature. They are mostly past their prime at this point. Costing a fortune to have removed. There are a few varieties that I'd love to plant.

The black walnut street trees on our block provide "traffic calming". When the walnuts fall, they are hard spheres inside of a soft, slippery covering. They fall on the street, cars run over them, and they shoot out from under the tires with explosive force and loud noise. They also hit parked cars and set off their alarms. Slows down all traffic on our street! The crows wait to get the walnuts which have been run over.

Jackie

Speaking of removing trees, in my case, it's wishing my neighbor HADN'T removed trees. When my nearest neighbor had his back 40 (literally several acres) logged off this year, it sent every varmint of the four-legged kind into MY woods...and garden...

I've seen more deer and raccoons this year than ever, and like the oldtimers were wont to say, "that's sayin' a piece"! Some of you may remember all my pot babies being rummaged and ransacked back in the Spring. I attribute it directly to my neighbor's land being cleared.

John

Sipping on almond milk and enjoying these stories.

Wait until they begin digging around, John. Construction forces all the moles, gophers, rabbits, squirrels and rabbits into YOUR yard. FUN times!

I look at cutting down a tree as something close to a mortal sin. Not only are trees necessary to fight global warming, but they are homes for all sorts of lives. The earth isn't just about what is convenient for human whims.

catrose - I would not go that far, but I am on that side of the discussion.

However, my DH and I have had 2 trees (out of about 12) cut down on our small 1/3rd acre lot since we have lived here. One was a pine tree that my FIL had planted right in the middle of our lovely side garden, which had several surviving ancient tea roses. By the time we moved in, it was shading out the roses, and getting huger every day. I do not miss it - that garden is now filled with more & more tea roses, and I have put a large pot with trailing flowers on the (intentionally left 3 ft high) stump.

The other tree we took out was a giant eugenia - they are evergreen, with a dense growth of tiny leaves. Make berries 12 months of the year - it was 5 stories tall, and eventually shading out the entire front garden - about 20 roses, lawn, camellia bushes, 2 small Japanese maple bushes, everything. You could barely see the house from the street because of it. When we moved in, we wanted to remove it because it was dropping its berries all over the brick walk which lead up to our front door. My FIL told my DH "your Grandmother loved that tree..." in a hurt voice (when she loved it it was only 20 feet tall!), so we did not take it out. 20 years later we came to the realization that we might do so, as my FIL had been dead for over 15 years, and was unlikely to haunt us. So, we did, and we also had the stump cut at 3 feet and put a 2 ft in diameter pot on the top of it with trailing flowers. There is still a giant (also 5 stories tall) scarlet oak in that part of the garden, and 3 maple trees. They are all deciduous, however, and so let in the light in the winter.

We still have another equally large eugenia in the back yard - here is a pic of it with my DH for scale. It is on the North side of our property, and so shades the neighbor's yard, not ours!

Jackie

I agree with you catspa about the benefit and necessity of trees, but eventual size, fire and tree fall safety have to also be taken into consideration. Having lived in a high fire danger area for so long, it has really become ingrained. When we bought this house, one deal breaker was NO huge trees anywhere near the house. I saw several which I also liked, but the others had ginormous trees overhanging their roofs with the associated huge roots invading the yard. It would be much easier to live with if cities selected appropriate street trees. Magnolia grandiflora, California Sycamores, California Peppers, White Birch, Giant Sequoias, Washintonia palms, Olives...are NOT suitable for parking strips nor smaller city lots! Magnolias, Birches and Sequoias aren't even suited for this climate, but they are used everywhere.

I also do not condone removing trees on a whim or indiscriminate clearing, but as Jaqueline and roseseek have said, inappropriate trees in house lots or streetscapes have the potential to cause major injury and/or damage. I personally would like to have 'removed' the neighbour who planted a macrocarpa and 3 willow trees about a foot away from our fence line (a suburban plot) so that 10 years of rose garden and a vegie plot were ruined and sewer pipes damaged. I very casually asked the wife one day why they chose those trees, and she floored me by saying they had been bonsai trees that they thought deserved a chance to grow properly. They moved shortly after and the new neighbours removed the willows but the b-----y macrocarpa is still there, half dead and still causing occasional problems with the sewer lines. My only consolation is if it is brought down in a storm, it is more likely to be their property that is damaged.I have also been nearly brained by huge fronds from another neighbour's 30 ft palm tree (also close to the fence) in high winds, not to mention the branch from his eucalypt that dropped and wrecked a 10 ft section of fence during the last drought. Grrrrr!!!

One could suggest that all these inappropriately planted trees are karma for cutting down the indigenous trees to put in houses, parking lots, sewer lines. Where did all the wildlife go who lived in those trees? I do understand the problems and there are always trade-offs and balancing acts, etc. I'm as guilty as everyone else. But I do wish we could move a little bit beyond anthropocentrism. The tree that is a nuisance to us may be a fabulous address for Mr&Mrs Squirrel. Why our our needs&desires more important than theirs? We gripe about getting brained by a palm frond but we never ask what the bulldozer that cleared the lot for our house did to Mrs. Bunny's burrow. We need to think differently about the world we live in.

Leyland Cypress, I hate them. But the birds actually like them.

Trees can stay but the neighbor leaves their back patio light on all night and it shines on my side of the bed. Normally I'm not a violent type of person but about 2am, I've considered asking Santa for a Red Rider BB Gun...

Be careful moroseaz or you'll shoot your eye out... :-O

Can I request my neighbor dispose of their house which is becoming very run down? The PO died a couple of years ago and some relative may or may not live there. I see evidence of life such as the on again off again security light that used to shine in my bedroom window and the trash they pulled out of their garage and left out. I don't see very much from my windows since DH put up a lovely wood privacy fence.

Check with your city about codes requiring basic structure conditions. There may be something in place to help.

I have the opposite problem. I hope and pray no one in my neighborhood cuts down their trees. We have a lot of beautiful tall trees that are probably 200 hundred years old. I just hold my breath every time we get a hurricane. However, I also have a problem with a run down house on the back of my lot where they leave trash out and it looks gross. And of course it's where there are no trees so I will be planting a lot this year and next year.

On a side note, I've also noticed a lot of people planting baby Norway and colorado spruce trees about 2 feet from their houses. I don't think they ever check what the mature height will be.

Someone, or perhaps a bird, planted a redwood tree (giant sequoia) 1 foot away from the boundary fence with out next door neighbors, on their side of course. By the time we moved in, it was still only about 4 feet tall, but I knew what it was. Because our house is so old, our house right there is actually only 4 feet away from the tree. Luckily the house next door was a rental at that time, and the tenants were totally ignorant about plants, and the landlord hated all plants - at least, that is how he acted - he would come over once a month with a weed whacker and Round Up and really worked hard to make sure his rental property was "tidy" (ie, practically no plants). Anyway, I decided there was no way I was going to allow a giant sequoia (they grow hundreds of feet high) to grow up 4 feet from our house. The fence there is very short - about 3 feet. So, I just leaned over the fence periodically, and pruned that tree into a nice green bush about 3 feet high and 3 feet wide. It is now 25 years later, I am still doing that, and no one has noticed. I think they think it is supposed to be a bush! The house is a duplex, and is now owner occupied, with a tenant on the other side. They have hired a gardener, and now HE is pruning to maintain it as a bush too! Yay!

Jackie

Good thinking, Jackie! LOL! Not considering mature sizes before planting trees is a common malady. Yes, some are bird or squirrel planted, but you see Italian Cypress planted in six inch wide strips against fences, foundations, driveways, etc., and oaks, redwoods, sycamores, etc. planted right against foundations and walls all over. It's something I frequently ran up against at the beach. Someone would come in looking for a tree completely unsuitable for where they wanted it placed. I'd suggest something else because the size wouldn't be appropriate. Most frequently, they'd ask how long it would take to out grow the spot. It's difficult to determine in many cases because of the water and compacted soil issues, but their most frequent response was, "by that time, I'll be out of there and it will be someone else's problem." A long-gone friend used to say, "but it was SO CUTE in the gallon can!"

Oh Jackie, that really made me chuckle!!! I wish I had been around when my neighbor planted their birch! I am constantly cursing it because it is always dropping something but must admit it is a handsome specimen. The original owners who planted the tree are long gone and probably also never imagined it would get as big as it is. Thankfully it is still in good health but if it ever did fall, it would be right onto our roof.

We have two large maples which we cut back every other year to keep them in check - sort of pollarding. Unfortunately, most home owners plant inappropriate trees and forget about them - when they look again they have a giant in the garden which can be very costly to get rid of.

Sharlene

I have a problem with my neighbor on the south side of the hill I live on. They are nice folks but the house and yard are a total eye sore. They live like they were still in a S.W. Mexican village back in the hills where they came from. Trash and two trash cans laying all over the place. A washer and an old stove sitting in the yard. Wood and old tires all over the place. I'm thinking about putting a 12 Ft hedge down along the property line. That way anyone coming down the hill to my place can't see that mess.

Do it Ken. I promise you it is so much nicer when you can't see the inconsideration of others.

Jacqueline, I wish I'd thought of that, but I might have had difficulty with the 6' fence... I'm only 5'.

I first took this post to be ever wish you had neighbors you could dispose of! Oh, yea! Biggest oxycotin dealer in the area who sold to teens lived next door. It took the swat team to get rid of him. That was an interesting evening.

On the other side of me was one individual mixed up with Vegas mob. Found him dead in his car in a water canal a few miles from the house.

Then before the drug dealer was the guy who used to get drunk and try to break into his ex's house. Then the police and him had the gall to ask me if I would watch him instead of them booking him into jail. Ah, no, I don't think so. He used to blast his music and jump up and down in front of his windows naked at 3 in the morning.

Now onto the true meaning of the question, yes, I have a huge diseased tree on the property next door that is uprooting the cement walkway and it needs to go. But the tree is so huge that no one wants to pay to have it removed. So it drops its diseased leaves all over my yard and driveway.

On the other side of me (where the ex mob guy used to live) is a tree that is hitting my roof and bushes that keep having thier roots and shoots come into my yard. I put down a barrier (14 inches) at the fence line to try to stop it, but it is not working.

Before the ex mob guy, the owner of the house had bushes next to my siding that ruined the siding and I had to replace all of it. He also had several rats in his yard as well, alive and dead.

Yup, I live in a fun and interesting place......

Dear mustbnuts, I admire your ability to cope with all of this and your post is very entertaining if only it were fiction.

I'm not anti tree just wish it wasn't a foot from the house. There is a tree at the curb that I appreciate 3 seasons a year, find it a little annoying in the fall. I walk to work and complain about blocks that are not lined with trees, they make things so much better in the heat.