Go round and tell them your house insurance is due for renewal and they are asking about trees and how close to your property they are. Tell them you wondered if they knew about this and how worried you are about the tree roots. Be emotional, take a hanky and sniff a lot.
The problem with conifers is that most of them are shallow rooted. We had a forty foot specimen in the garden of our last house, close to the house itself. It had been a small Christmas tree when the previous owners planted it. We had it taken down, but the roots, some as thick as a mans arm, were already showing through the surface of the lawn and these had to be excavated and areas of the lawn relaid. The ones that ran under patio had to be cut off at the tree stump and then treated with brush wood killer. Take action now, before it becomes a real problem.
Point out between sobs that they will be liable to pay for repairs if the trees do any damage to your garden. Also point out, (giving a heaving sob and holding a hankie to your face), that you are so worried that a branch of the conifer could get blown off in a gale and do severe damage to your house (do you have a conservatory?) by coming through the roof. (copious tears.)
Alternatively you could consult a solicitor and let him deal with it.
Obviously it's best to try and sort it out in a friendly manner but the law is on your side if that fails. This article from the RHS tells you your rights and responsibilities as the owner of a tree.
www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=1022
ellan-how right you are. its worrying
and aggie, that sounds like a plan. tears that is!
i know its got to be done, i just need to compose myself to get it right first time
thank you
can you go round to them with an extremely worried look on your face , take them in your garden and show what is happening , explain about the fence and other damage and ask them for advice ...... make a huge fuss , tears if possible , stand back and see what happens .
The thing with tree roots that spread is not only that they can destroy brickwork but you have to also think about pipework. Sewer pipes have been known to split because of the roots seeking a water source and this can run into thousands.
I would tell the neighbour your concern about the roots in your garden and see what happens. They wouldn't like it done to them I'm sure. The thing is that if we now have hot summers the tree roots will be lengthening in order to find water.
Can I run an issue by you all? It’s a garden/boundary thing. Well, two boundary things.
When we moved into our house some years ago, the neighbour over the back fence had a single huge conifer in their back garden. It was already taller than their house and blocks all the light from the back of their next door neighbours house and garden. That really wasn’t our business at the time, but events move on.
The fence that divides their garden and ours belongs to them and has never been never painted or maintained on their side since it was installed. It is a good quality fence with substantial concrete supports and posts. With their permission, we have painted our side and after a couple of storms, have repaired parts of the fence, again with their permission. The neighbours didn’t want to bother repairing it themselves.
So far, no problem. We want to be good neighbours, live and let live etc. But this past summer, the neighbours have had a lot of work done to their garden which includes a border just on the other side of the fence. In that border, they have planted several trees (not conifers). This is the first issue.
The trees are right up to the fence, already touching the fence, with no gap between fence and tree. One of the faster growing trees has lifted a section of the concrete supports nearby causing damage to their fence. As the others catch up, I’m sure other parts of the supports will be affected. As trees don’t pay attention to boundaries, there will be significant overhang of branches, branches pushing against the fence, together with an underground network of roots
Which leads to the next issue. Their huge conifer, now the height of two houses has thrown out underground roots that have this year, noticeably spread under part of our garden and disturbed a small retaining wall on our side causing a crack in the bricks and mortar.
The neighbours seem oblivious to the damage that such large trees in suburban gardens can do, we are not hopeful that they will bother too much about any damage to fences bearing in mind they have not maintained it so far. And we not hopeful that they will appreciate the extent of overhanging branches, unwanted root systems on our side. But we are very concerned about the rest of our retaining wall and a patio area just beyond. Also the destruction of the boundary fence and the fact that if we put up a fence on our own side, that too will be damaged as the trees mature.
Doing the Google thing, it seems that massive neighbour disputes can arise from simple things and particularly boundary issues, and we certainly don’t want to fall out with them. But equally, in a few years time we will be dealing with a number of very large trees right up to our border with significant overhang and an invasive root system, together with increasing damage caused by the conifer. We would like to “nip it all in the bud” before the problems are overwhelming.
So what is your advice here? How would you approach a tricky neighbour problem?
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