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Newb - Ash Tree removal... yes or no

nicholauslammingnicholauslamming Posts: 10
in Problem solving
Hi,

first post on the forum so be gentle. We have just moved into our forever home and we are just getting to understand our new garden. It was well maintained by the previous owners and there are some beautiful mature borders. Having just had a chat with our neighbours they pointed out that we have an ash tree about 12ft from the back of the house and they have advised us to get rid as it could potentially damage the pipe work under our paved patio. It’s about 12ft tall at the moment and only just showing foliage as it looks like it was cut back at some point previously.

as I have read a few threads I was wondering if folk on here would suggest I get rid? It’s not adding to the garden as we have other trees for the birds to nest in and I think it is currently at an age that I could likely remove it roots and all with minimal headache.

thanks in advance 
Nick
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Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Hello and welcome  :)
    12 feet does sound very close to me, ash trees grow to quite a size. My personal opinion is that you should remove it, although l'm not sure just how easy it would be.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    edited June 2020
    Welcome to the Forum.
    Did your surveyor say anything about it? 
    Can you post a photo? click on the icon which looks like a postcard of a mountain.
    Beware neighbours "advising" you what to do with your property.  ;)
    Devon.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I would remove it. Ash trees can get very big and can also get ash die-back disease which could potentially lose branches and die. 12 ft is not far enough away from any building for any tree.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    We have a huge ash tree ... There were two when we came ... it cost £500 to have one removed and £450 to have the crown of the other one reduced. That was 8 years ago. This year we’ll have to have the crown reduced again we’ve been quoted £480 this time. 
    We kept it so far because of its value to wildlife. We’ve planted a 7’ multistemmed amelanchier (£150) and hopefully in a few years time it’ll be large enough so that we can have the remaining ash felled without the wildlife suffering too much. That’ll cost us at least £500. 

    You work out whether it’s worth keeping such a large tree. And while you’re doing that think of the difficulty we have growing plants in the dry garden because the ash roots suck every drop of moisture from the soil .... and then there’s the nuisance if hundreds of seedlings Yo pull ups in your garden every year if your tree is a female.  

    Did I mention I love ash trees?  I grew up on a farm in a village both named for the ash tree and my favourite folk song is The Ash Grove ... but they’re not a garden tree. 



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • februarysgirlfebruarysgirl Posts: 835
    I have a feeling it's not your property he's concerned about, but his own. It seems unlikely that he's worried about your pipe work. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd asked the previous owner to remove it but they'd declined and he was hoping to have more luck with you. If I remember correctly, when I sold my old house/bought this one, I had to disclose whether I'd had any issues with my neighbours, which I hadn't. Do you know whether the sellers mentioned anything at all? 

    It's not big by ash tree standards and it would definitely be easier to take down now rather than later. I used to have an enormous ash tree which was probably about 5 metres from my house. It had heart rot but we didn't know this until one of the larger branches broke off in the middle of the night. Fortunately the only casualty was the neighbour's fence, it could have been a lot worse. I'm not a big fan of removing healthy trees that aren't causing any problems. If you don't particularly want to remove it, you could always get someone in to assess the tree and the likelihood of it causing an issue. If they give it the all clear and your neighbour brings the subject up again, you can tell them you consulted an expert for their advice. I doubt he could argue much then. 

    Trees can be emotive and cause big arguments between neighbours, it may be worth taking it down to keep the peace. You can always plant something smaller in its place to make up for its absence.
  • februarysgirlfebruarysgirl Posts: 835
    Dovefromabove 

    You work out whether it’s worth keeping such a large tree. And while you’re doing that think of the difficulty we have growing plants in the dry garden because the ash roots suck every drop of moisture from the soil .... and then there’s the nuisance if hundreds of seedlings Yo pull ups in your garden every year if your tree is a female.  

    Did I mention I love ash trees?  I grew up on a farm in a village both named for the ash tree and my favourite folk song is The Ash Grove ... but they’re not a garden tree. 


    We had our's cut down in 2012, STILL getting seedlings! I missed it taking the moisture out of the soil when the Russian Vine and ivy started going beserk 😬
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Take it down now! We are having huge amounts of seedlings to pull, the soil is very dry, and nothing will thrive under it. Plus would it be a problem when it's trunk is a foot wide an its 100 foot tall?
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    Sooner or later it’ll get ash die back and then it will have to come out so I would get rid of it now. Leave it and the price of removing it will sharply increase. 

    We have four four or five fully grown ash trees on the edge of our garden; they’re going to be expensive to remove.
    Rutland, England
  • februarysgirlfebruarysgirl Posts: 835
    edited June 2020
    It's not impossible to plant underneath a large ash tree, I put a shade bed in and it worked really well.



  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Yes @februarysgirl you can, but the tree is nowhere to be seen in this photo so not so close.
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