most of what I have read about this, because of the way most homeowner's liability works, says you should notify them in writing that you view the tree leaning as a potential problem. it is the best CYA. if curious check your local ordinances about trees, but in general if they know it is a problem or you perceive it to be a problem and notify them, you put the ball in their court.

I love tulip trees, Liriodendron tulipifera. They get huge around here and I notice their flowers.

Still the words growing in drainage culvert doesn't inspire visions of stability. Any indication of how stable that bank is?

they may or may not 'own' the drainage culvert ... the owner of the easement for the culvert might be the responsible party ...

might want to notify the city ....

or at least find out who has responsibility ...

you have to put the proper person on notice ...

POPLARS are very weak wooded trees.. and become.. very quickly .. problematic ... BUT!!!!!

regardless what you call this tree.. it is NOT a true poplar ...

so if you do research regarding the strength of this tree... insure you use the latin name.. not the common name ... it is mentioned in a prior post ...

i have a few smaller ones.. a few years back.. during a micro burst .... at about 10 feet tall ... one or two of these had some branch damage ... none of the 40 same sized oaks had any damage.. so.. in my experience.. they are not as strong as an oak .. but stronger than a poplar ... nice bit of fact .. but most likely useless to your quandary .. lol ..

good luck

ken

I like tuliptrees as well, as they have been around for tens of millions of years, so they have seen it all. They have also had individuals who leaned an unstated number of degrees. Nonetheless, if it is IN the culvert, this is a problem in many levels. If it is NEAR the culvert and you have historically little flooding, not a big deal. If it is NEAR the culvert and your precip patterns are changing it might be a hazard in the indeterminate future if your soil is shallow.

All guesswork with the info given. But it doesn't hurt to take a beer next door and talk about it.

Dan

Thank you for the replies. The land next door is unoccupied and I'm not sure who owns it - I guess I need to let them know.

I hate to dig up an old post but I planted on a few years ago. It's grown substantially in that time. I've noticed it is leaning. The last thing I want is a future problem. Should I be concerned?