Sycamore - who has one more?

Who has more? No idea where that came from - it's who has one... Or more?

You have my sympathy *OldFrill.

The neighbours whose garden backs on to mine has a youngish one and I am trying to work myself up to going round to talk to them about chopping it down! I’m pretty sure it wasn’t deliberately planted. I am on constant watch for seedlings. They grow so fast and soon have roots so deep they are hard to remove.

Sooty Bark Disease kills sycamores and is on the increase due to hot dry summers. It is a fungal disease which creates spores that are hazardous if breathed in.
We've just had to spends thousands having a group of dead sycamores felled.

Thanks Litterpicker, l don't have the sycamore but have an interest in a house that has a large sycamore in the garden, and others nearby. All have TPOs. I don't think l could live with it, plus we go away for months at a time so I'd need a reliable gardener just to clear up after the behemoth, I'd resent the cost l think.

Thank you Eddycat, l wasn't aware of Sooty Bark Disease, the potential for that may be the final deal breaker.

My neighbour behind me has a giant specimen - it’s a bloody nightmare. It casts a huge shadow over my garden, I get 80% of the leaf-fall to pick up and dozens of seedlings all over the garden to get out before the corkscrew roots get a hold. My Gardener says sycamores are just giant weeds. I hope this one dies before me!

Can’t you get a tree surgeon to cut it down? Or someone fit.
We cut ours & a cherry tree down It had canker? Couldn’t cut the grass between the roots.
TS wanted £500 to cut them down but my husband did the job in the end. We were younger then.

Thanks Georgesgran, sounds as bad as l suspected, nightmare.

Litterpicker - l think you need that chat with your neighbours asap.

They exude a sticky sap, too. My house was surrounded by them ( the local farmer seems to like them). Much as I love trees if I had my time again I’d live in a house as far away from trees as possible. I never sit in the garden, just spend my life sweeping up leaves. Last week the pines started shedding needles. The Holly has been dropping leaves for ages and I can’t let the dog into the garden as they’re so sharp and prickly. The Silver birch is now dropping catkins and soon the little seeds will be everywhere. But I think, of all of them, the Sycamores were the worst.

Of course, before someone points it out - it was there before us, but we bought in Winter, 33 years ago and didn’t realise that it would continue to grow or the nuisance it was/is. Unfortunately, the shape of the neighbour’s garden and the tree’s location means it doesn’t bother them.

I have a huge sycamore but I love it. It's majestic and strong . The swing hangs from it's branches.

Mind you there is still plenty of garden not shaded by that tree.
There are many other trees too but the weeping ash which graced the lawn has died.

Such fun Did you mention the honey dew that covers a car if anyone is daft enough to park under it. To add insult to injury there was a tree preservation order on it as apparently it was a fantastic shape as the canopy grew unhindered. Not my problem any more we moved

MayBee - So sorry you can't enjoy your garden. I thought this one tree was an majestic until l saw it was a Sycamore.

Grammaretto - I hope your beautiful sycamore doesn't succumb to the Sooty Bark Disease. Ash dieback continues to devastate in many areas.

MT62 - if you mean can l cut it down, it's not mine to cut down and looks unlikely it ever will be. It also has a TPO as do all the others outwith the garden.

I bought a new car ( the only time I’d had one from new) and was horrified after a hot day to find it covered in baked on sap. This was late at night but, thanks to Google I read that fabric conditioner would remove it so, at 1 in the morning I was frantically cleaning my car. Thankfully it worked. I really thought the car was ruined.

Thank you all, l had googled etc but was hoping Google exaggerated, unfortunately seems not.

Thank goodness the remedy worked MayBee!

Georgesgran

My neighbour behind me has a giant specimen - it’s a bloody nightmare. It casts a huge shadow over my garden, I get 80% of the leaf-fall to pick up and dozens of seedlings all over the garden to get out before the corkscrew roots get a hold. My Gardener says sycamores are just giant weeds. I hope this one dies before me!

Yes, the ultimate suburban garden 'nightmare'.

They grow so very darn fast, seemingly sprouting from nowhere, eventually becoming as wide as they are tall.

And a qualified tree surgeon (as opposed to some White Van Man with a chainsaw) is eye-wateringly expensive.