|
| My new neighbor, without our knowledge, did a bad job on our holly trees on his side. He obviously had it surveyed (stakes) and then crossed over the line 3-5 ft., depending on the tree, and cut the back sides of our hollys to small stubs (2-6"). From our side, it looks okay--just thin (there went the privacy we had). His side looks horrid.
I want to know if there might be some limb/foliage regeneration from the trunk. I've seen this done to some wonderful old oaks and the poor things regenerated small stems and foliage all over the tree (then died). They are Ilex opaca 'Dan Fenton' and were planted 57 years ago. They were truly lovely and all other neighbors used them to their advantage since they were also beautiful from their side. We are shocked and astounded at the mess they made, but our biggest concern is for our hollies. Do we have hope of regeneration of limbs and foliage? All arborists we talk with don't want to get involved in case this gets nasty. I don't think it will at all. All we are getting from arborists is "uh, duh..." We just want to know how this is going to effect our trees. Please help if you can! |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Let's clear up some of the details: you say that your new neighbor crossed the legal properly line to prune the shrubs? On your side? If your shrubs begin to regrow, what makes you think that this will not happen again? What did the neighbors say about this and why do you think that it will not get 'nasty'? The older the plant, the more difficult recovery will be. It takes an enormous amount of energy for a plant to replace that much loss. Some pictures of this damage would be helpful (and interesting). |
|
| Sybl- This comes to you from a former owner of a 30 acre holly nursery who has, on occasion, cut mature Ilex trees back to stubs along the trunk. The proper way to prune a holly even if only for a few branches at Christmas is to study each branch carefully and then cut back to a strong "Y" in the branch cutting just above the last bud on each of the branches that form the "Y". Hope you understand this explanation! Hollies thrive in your VA climate. Yours should revive and grow well. As you know they send out a second period of growth later on in the summer which will give you an indication of how they are recovering. For now I have two suggestions: 1. Take the time to go over your side of the butchered plants, make sure the cuts are clean and try to have as many branches as possible ending in the "Y" I described which will give you strong, well branched, tight new growth. 2. Go easy on fertilizer. The inclination would be to feed heavily to give them a kick start, but baby them for a few years with light feedings and water at the base during dry periods as the roots are no longer shaded.
|
|
| I'm confused. How much of what he cut was on his side of the property line, and how much was on your side? I think the hollies will be alright. As rhizo mentioned though, unless you put your foot down I would think that any regeneration on your neighbors side will just get cut again. Pictures wouldn't hurt. |
|
| Oh, I can sympathize. Years ago, I planted a row of Fraser Firs about 6 feet inside of the back lot line, at the time backing up to a vacant field. I figured that was far enough in to screen and avoid any major problems, and if they wanted to cut their side past the lot line, so be it. Well, it was developed, there were 3 separate houses built that touched my lot line. I marked the EXACT lot line with a temporary rope fence and signs during construction and left that up until one of the new "neighbors" asked me to take it down because it was "ugly". So, I was nice and did it. Well, the guy in the middle house came over the lot line one day and trimmed all of the branches to the trunk that pointed anywhere along the 180 degree line parallel to the lot line. And had the nerve to leave half of the prunings and mess behind as well. I'd already had problems with these people throwing branches and debris from their trees on my side, dumping it under the firs. I was so LIVID. I saw him in the yard and from my side told him that he had no right to do what he did, told him where the lot line was again, and said that I had better not EVER see him cross the lot line and damage anything. But of course, fraser fir doesn't regenerate from the trunk, so damage was done. Still there but much less full and ugly. I guess I could have tried to sue him, but that would be just adding more drama that I didn't need. I should have planted them further in, but basically once you put up a fence, hedge, whatever, the land on the other side is functionally part of the other yard, even if legally its still yours -- it's generally too small to use for anything worthwhile, so other than a little maintenance you tend to never set foot there. I didn't want to give up more than 6 feet plus the amount they come over in my direction.
|
|
| Eh, this is why I prefer a fence... I don't care what happens to the opposite side of it ;) |
|
| The neighbors did come across the property and trimmed the part on their yard (well away from their house and such--no danger to them. I supposed they wanted to draw a line. However, they crossed well-over the line and butchered the trees. (I'll try to post pics.) We have no guarantee they won't do it again, but my husband is going to warn them to not cross the line again. We've been preparing answers for the neighbor if he gets ugly. We have one big question for him: "Why would you want to look at butchered trees?" They are really ugly on their side. An old friend I finally contacted came this morning to look. She is a retired landscape designer and hollies and boxwoods are her specialty. She advised me to clean up the cuts and to spray the new cuts with insecticide to prevent insect infestation. She said to cut the ivy at the base to remove it. Also she recommended a light dressing of Holly Tone to help them with their loss of food-stuff. Ahe also said we should tell them not to cross that line again or we would have to call the police because they are vandalizing our property. We can sue and have it determined that treatment of the trees to help them become resonably attractive (without crossing their line)and to remain healthy could be charged to them. OMG. SOoooo, disgusting. |
|
| Will the holly regrow?....Almost certainly. As Nandina alluded to, most hollies (I don't think you told us what kind you had) can take severe pruning and bounce right back with no problem. Should you approach the neighbor?....Definitely, but I'd do so very carefully and only when you have gotten over (at least to some degree) the shock. Remember that their viewpoint of what they did may be very different than yours. You will need to communicate your concerns, but it seems prudent to realize they may not have purposely done anything wrong (Some people just don't understand these things). Should you use insecticide on the holly?....NO!! At least not unless there's something going on you haven't mentioned. I'm a little baffled at why your friend would have suggested that, and believe you should definitely ignore her advise unless there's something you haven't mentioned. Should you use Holly Tone?....Not unless you should have anyway. First the Holly Tone will NOT "help them with their loss of food-stuff" due to pruning. If your friend suggested that, she is ignorant (as in unaware) of the concepts involved. If your holly was healthy to start with, you do not need to use any type of fertilizer or supplement now. If it wasn't healthy to start with, and you suspect a lack of nutrients, then light fertilization may be in order. |
|
| Oh............that grief was so unneccesary. It would have been so easy for the folks next door to have approached you and said they wanted you to bring your plants into the boundaries of your own property. Had they done it that way, it would have given you the chance to do the pruning properly. I own/owned several town properties and have always approached the folks to both sides of the houses to discuss with them any tree work or pruning I wanted to do, even if it involved my trees next to but totally on my property. The quickest way to invoke ire is to make those parties feel totally powerless just because you legally can. They have always given their approval and even invited me to access their property to do the work. Yes, hollies regenerate after some pretty drastic pruning. |
|
| Thank all of your for your help, empathy, and encouraging words. I believe they will recover and look good from my side at least! Yes, former neighbors have always consulted us if they wanted to cut something and we always allowed it. It feels like an insult that our neighbors did this. And, yes, my husband is trying to get his anger under control and have responses prepared. He is not well and I don't want him upset. I offered to talk to the neighbor myself, but he says it's not my place. I am a Master Gardener and have had access to lots of advice and information and could put up a really congenial but accurate argument, but I will leave it to him. I needed your input to confirm all I've read and been told. There is nothing like experience. Thank you. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Trees Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.