What is it? American Beech tree (Fagus Grandifolia)? And it looks like a job for a good local arborist. They can thin out some interior branches, anything dead, or anything that is encroaching on your house without getting killed or maimed in the process.

I don't even know what it is! But i'm thinking that i'm going to have to call a pro becuase like you said i would most likely get killed or maimed. LOL i'm sure once i got up in there i would realize it's a bigger job than i can do!

Well... what exactly are you hoping to achieve by pruning it?

What you have there is a big tree, one that is going to grow bigger no matter whether you prune it or not. It is at the stage where it dominates your yard to the point where it IS your landscaping, and where it may have plans to be your neighbour's landscaping as well. The roots are off hunting for new territory as we speak.

It is also a spreading tree, with major branches coming off low down, so if you are limbing it up to any degree you may be faced with altering its shape dramatically, and possibly risking its health.

Pruning it will generate new growth, which will not be as solid as the original branching, and which may render the shape considerably less pleasing. It is currently a beautiful tree, and there is no point in making it an ugly one.

You should certainly consult an arborist, or two or three, about how best to manage it if you plan to keep it. You or the arborist should figure out what species it is to evaluate how it will respond to pruning, and also to understand the implications of its continually increasing root spread, which may begin to threaten surrounding structures. What kind of tree it is will also tell you a bit about its expected lifespan and whether being under those increasingly heavy branches is a good thing - some trees are brittle.

If you hire tree people, the cost of having a big tree like this can be high - maybe averaging to a few hundred dollars per year.

Also please consider the wishes of your neighbours with respect to canopy and root spread, and leaf fall - we have been bullied by a big tree next door for many years, and it is not a nice position to be in.

Rather than just assuming you should prune it, you should make a long term plan for the tree. If you or your neighbours cannot accommodate it much beyond its current size, pruning may only buy it a few more years, and perhaps you'd rather watch a new tree grow than try to prevent a mature one from growing any further. I wish we'd removed two willows on our property right away when we moved in, rather than fighting with them for 15 years and then finally figuring out they are simply too big for their spots.

KarinL

Karin is right--it's a beautiful tree in completely the wrong place. I wish people would learn something about the mature size of the trees and shrubs they plant BEFORE they plant them--and then try to prune (hack) them to fit the spot.

I agree with you Karin. I never even thought to trim it until i was in the home forum asking people what they would do for a facelift for my house. They all said to prune the tree back, that it was overgrown and hiding the house. They all said it should be umbrella shaped, whatever that means. The roots are a bit crazy as well. I think it's a beautiful tree as well as messy in the fall, which i clean up consistently so my neighbors won't have to. But i know what you mean about pesky neighbor trees, there's a tree of my neighbors that is so bad in the fall you'd think it was on my property with all the cleaning up i have to do!!
I don't quite know what to do with this. I called a few arborists yesterday and am waiting for them to get back to me. Now i'm more confused then ever! LOL

An arborist is essential, and worth the money.

If it were my tree...and I had the funds...I would cut it down. End of story. Yes, it's a beautiful tree...but it is in the wrong spot.

Let us know what the arborists say - they can be bountiful sources of information if you get a good one. Some love trees and want to keep them even at huge cost, others are looking for the quick buck generated by taking them down. Be sure not to commit to anything until you've thought over all the advice you'll be getting. Especially given that the tree appears to have not been bothering you until someone else pointed it out!

Glad to hear you're a good neighbour - wish I had one like you...

KarinL

To add a little something to what mjsee suggested as a possible solution... I'm still on the schedule to have mature (but not so healthy looking as yours) trees removed. Two well over a century old 75-80' basswoods and three high limbed spruce in the way of the basswoods. The bill for this operation will be $2500 - in effect, $1250 for each of the basswoods - the others a "freebie" for making getting to the basswoods easier. We thought this a bargain (got 2 other estimates and went with the slightly more expensive, more experienced, more equipment and men on crew company) as compared to these trees coming down in a windstorm and taking out the house or killing someone driving by.

Despite not really knowing exactly what it is, your tree has grown into its natural shape - so umbrella, urn, etc. doesn't really mean much now. But your larger investment - the house - also has to be taken into account. Are you constantly cleaning leaves and debris out of the gutter system? Are the branches slapping up against the house? Your cement work looks new; did the root system lift and crack what was there before? How much fun is it mowing around those roots? Could you live with the tree if an expert arborist could keep it in check without ruining its integrity?

Definitely let us know what the arborist says.

Ok i'll definitly let you guys know what they say.

It's true, i hate mowing the lawn around the roots and i know they could cuasing problems. As far as the concrete goes it hasn't been replaced and surprisingly hasn't lifted either. Keeping my fingers crossed while i'm trying to figure out what to do with it!

Thanks for all your advice!

Knowing what species it is could help you decide, because each species has it's particular characteristics that determine what the maintenance issues are associated with the tree. Could you post a close-up of one of the leaves? Also, does it flower in the spring? What are the flowers like? Or seeds maybe. And lastly, what zone are you in?

Looks like there is ample space between you and the neighbors for the tree. Also, if I lived in a hot zone and this was the southern or eastern part of the house, I would evaluate the value of the shade/cooling provided by the tree. Also, there may be a way of dealing with the roots. But it's hard to give more specifics without knowing the tree. I was inclined to say some type of magnolia. I can't tell from the picture what kind of bark the tree has, it's blurry.

Beautiful tree, absolutely wrong place. It won't be cheap but I'd bite the bullet and take it down. It will be an endless headache--look at those roots!--and really is a threat to your house. And perhaps even to your family's safety if branches should come down during a storm.

I'm going to challenge that idea of "wrong place" which comes up often, so no offense meant, Ginny. I've probably said it myself.

I think in urban environments there are so few "right places" for big trees that we would have none if no one ever planted in the "wrong place." A tree can be right for one of these "wrong places" for many years, and can provide many years of really significant shade and pleasure (and work of course!) and can become quite seriously and admirably big, like the one that started this thread, before at some point it becomes too big and has to be removed. It can then be replaced by another "wrong tree" that can still be exquisitely "right" for many years.

I know the common caterwauling is that we should plant smaller varieties or cultivars, but really, if we did only that what kind of a treescape would that give us - oh Yawn. We have that in Vancouver, it's a sea of urban cherries which are hideous things in all their other attributes besides four days of bloom in spring if it doesn't rain (then all the blossoms are gone in two). Spare me.

So here's to planting exuberantly "wrong" trees in the "wrong" spaces, to be enjoyed for as long as that space allows. Obviously some knowledge of eventual shape and spread should be gathered before choosing a tree, but when something can be "right" for 50 years before it suddenly becomes "wrong," even an incautious choice might be quite right after all.

And I'd argue that this tree is an example of that principle. Getting too big for its space, definitely, but not necessarily wrong for it.

KarinL

Really want to know what it is. Is it fast growing, weak-wooded, messy? If the answer is no then I would keep it. Throw in some groundcover, loose the grass, maybe open it up but hard to say not knowing what it is. I just need a close up of the leaves. Are the branches opposite or alternate, does it have any fruit, fall color? Describe the bark. It is making me a little nuts not knowing what it is. I guess patience is a virtue.

It does seem difficult to give advice without identification of the kind of tree the poster is talking about, or even an indication of the general area. If it's a long-lived species that's one thing, but if it's something with a limited lifespan like an Arizona Ash, you're just dragging out the inevitable.

There's a slightly better photo of the tree on the other forum. If you roll way down to that photo, the leaves show up more and it seems to have a slightly warty trunk ... maybe a hackberry?

Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Same tree, different forum

Is the tree in question a Sassafras? Kind of fits the description if my memory serves me right.
Ally

ally ld...you may be on to something. I think it might BE a sassafras.

I keep thinking that a Sassafras tree has leaves with different shapes on the same plant. I guess I should look it up.
Ally

ally--it does...but as I recall, that changes as the tree matures...and that looks like a fairly mature tree. If it IS Sassafras, it may not grow too much more...aren't they more of an understory tree?

Dirr said:

ÂThat it is pyramidal, irregular tree or shrub in youth, with many short stout contorted branches which spread to form a flat topped irregular round oblong head a maturity often sprouting from roots and forming extensive thickets.

ÂBark is reddish brown deeply ridged and furrowed.

ÂLeaf color bright to med green in summer and changes to shades of yellow to deep orange to scarlet and purple in fall. One of the best for fall color.

ÂSpreading roots and a tap root can make transplanting difficult. Prune in winter.

ÂHeight is 30 to 60 and width is 25 to 40. Med to fast grower, 10 to 12, over a 5 to 8 year period.

ÂInteresting in winter - branching.

ÂLandscape use: excellent for naturalized plantings, roadsides, and home landscaping. Mitten-shaped leaves or 3-lobed; mittens occur in left and right hand models.

I feel like I am back in college studying for a woody plant test.

Ally

I hope the arborist shows up soon! Very curious to hear recommendations for this tree.

KarinL

Is the tree in question still alive? Do we have an ID. Just curious.
Ally

Is the poster still around? I would love to know the ID.
Ally

Be very, very careful about who you hire, if you're going to have somebody prune the tree. If they do a hack job on it, the tree could become weakened. (I'm speaking as a former member of an Urban Forestry crew.) There are very specific rules for how much of a tree's biomass can safely be removed, and what time of year it should be pruned, given the species. Certain types of trees, if stressed by prunning at a certain time of year, can become susceptable to pathogen or insect infestation. Also, pruned in the wrong way, a tree will release a lot of epicormic shoots from adventitious buds. These are dormant buds which only break when the dominant one has been removed. It's the same growth you get when you pinch back an herbaceous dicot, but on a larger scale. (Again, a lot of this will be affected by what type of tree it is.) This has three effects. Firstly, you defeat the original purpose of pruning, because now you've got dense foliage coming out everywhere. Secondly, it's more weakly connected than the original branches were, and more likely to fall when it gets large. Thirdly, it doesn't follow the same growth structure that is natural for the tree, so it makes the tree rather unsightly, and harder to prune. Unfortunately you see it all the time. You can spot an epicormic shoot easily- it will usually be growing straight out from the branch, often up through the canopy, unlike the rest of the branches, and the bark will be a different texture and shade than the rest.

I guess we lost the OP, but judging from the relatively close-up photo of the tree in the other thread that annieinaustin linked to, I think the tree may be a mulberry (aka Morus rubra). The orange tint to the bark and surface roots match that, as do the irregularly lobed leaves.

To see the other pics, go to the link below and scroll down to the post from the OP on Fri, Sep 28, 07 at 10:55.

Here is a link that might be useful: other post, other forum

If it's a Morus rubra then it's threatened, is it not? That would make me think twice about cutting it down...even though it IS the wrong tree in the wrong place. Plus, mulberries are EVER-so-messy....