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| Spring of 2010 our neighbors next to us planted a tree, that was about 7 feet tall. We think it was a corkscrew locust. The nursery they got it from told them it was grafted onto another tree. In the past year and a few months it has grown to a least 25 feet tall. The problem is, the roots are coming over into our yard at least 30 feet away and coming up out of the ground and there are stickers all over the new growth. If we let them go within a week they can grow a foot tall. They are invading our Daylily beds. My husband is so mad!
We have not approached the neighbors, we want to suggested they cut the tree down. We don't know what else to do, especially since we are not sure if they will cut it down. My husband want to put insecticide on the roots to see if that kills the roots, but I don't know what that will do to the surrounding plants. Anyone have any other suggestions?? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Do you have a wood stove? if not, buy one, think you'll have a lot of locust wood to burn if it can spread 30ft in a couple years. |
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| Well, if it's a Robinia pseudoacacia, it's not "invasive". The rootstock may sucker like mad and it may be highly annoying, but that's a different story. What's up with the insecticide? Do you mean herbicide? Best to talk with the neighbor before trying something like that. You could be getting yourself into legal trouble if you do something to cause the death of your neighbor's tree without their permission. I'd definitely talk to your neighbor ASAP. Surely your neighbor will see the problem and want to do something about it. If not, you may have to resort to further measures (legal, black ops, etc). |
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- Posted by mainegrower Z5b ME (My Page) on Sat, Oct 8, 11 at 5:04
| The likely rootstock is ordinary black locust on which the corkscrew variety was grafted. It's the rootstock which is suckering so vigorously. In the right place this suckering is a valuable attribute of black locust because it can stabilize steep banks and waste ground. I wish there were some easy solution to your problem, but even cutting down the tree is not a guarantee that the suckers will disappear. Cutting down the tree, plus treating the stump with herbicide plus paint brushing the suckers with herbicide as they emerge offers the only real hope, but complete eradication is likely to take several years. |
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- Posted by lisanti07028 z6NJ (My Page) on Sat, Oct 8, 11 at 10:16
| It must be suckering like crazy in their yard, too, so they may be more approachable than you think. |
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| Tree conflicts with neighbours can get ugly, so document what you do. I'm not a lawyer, but reluctantly had to learn quite a bit about tree law a few years back in a similar situation. Make sure that any official request/offer you make to them is in writing. Email is handy for that, but (trust me on this) can quickly devolve into a flaming match and burn up the relationship, so a good-old-fashioned registered letter can be a good thing once you decide exactly what you would like them to do. That is, if you decide to formally ask them to remove the tree, and if you want to sweeten the deal by offering to buy them another tree, or babysit their kids, or what have you. If you use email, simply use it for this kind of letter and do not engage in conversation that way as well. My advice would also be to not take any unilateral action against the tree until you have talked to them. It seems absurd, but they can sue you if you do that, and they will win. But conversely, if you take the high road, you can sue them and maybe win BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE DONE EVERYTHING RIGHT. Feeling anger is fine, but expressing it or acting on it is a mistake. You probably do have the right to sever the roots at the lot line (and install a root barrier) if they refuse to do anything for you. But what one lawyer advised me was to let them know first (via letter) of what you intend to do and why, to give them one more chance to take remedial action themselves, and also to ensure you have done nothing that they can sue you for. Depending on how the conversation with them goes, it won't hurt for you to spend a half hour talking to a lawyer. Karin L |
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| My neighbor gladly allowed me to remove several popcorn trees from his property when I offered to do all the work and replace them with decent trees. |
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