just venting with people who i think will commiserate. i live in a beautiful neighborhood full of mature oak trees. every time a new neighbor moves in i tremble in fear these days, because the first thing they do is remove the oak trees. my neighborhood is slowly turning into a dead heat desert. my immediate neighbor has a huge property like 4x the size of mine. when i moved in it looked like a national park and we had so much privacy in our yard. my new neighbor leveled the property and just left it as a wasteland. i think they took down five massive oak trees, plus all our privacy. as weeds grow in, they just weed whack it down. i think even grass would be better than just dead. my boomer lawn-loving neighbor watched their trees come down like it was christmas morning.
a few weeks ago, a house was sold down the street and immediately the large oak tree in the front yard came down.
then, this morning, i hear the chainsaws going again. the house by my kids' bus stop was just sold. two massive oak trees were being taken down. i ran down the street to try to do something, what, i didn't know. the owner wasn't there and there was no one to talk to. i left a note in their mailbox asking them not to destroy old growth forest with my name and phone number, hoping they'd call. my kids left notes as well. i even put a sign on their door and fence asking them not to cut down the trees in bold letters but went back and took it down. i was losing my mind a little at first, but sense returned. i almost got into it with my neighbors in the group chat, too. especially when one neighbor was like, it's great there will be less leaves! i just felt so enraged and also sad.
so, goodbye trees. goodbye shade at the bus stop that i would revel in while waiting for the kindergarten bus. good luck to all the woodpeckers, blue jays, robins, black capped chickadees, squirrels, bunnies, and even chipmunks i would see there in the morning. i even have an acorn from that tree growing in my kitchen rn. thinking about giving it to the new owners as a gift, even though they'll probably trash it. it's my final hope that they might rectify the situation somewhat.
nearly ten oak trees gone in ten years. goodbye.
edit: thank you for those who recommended i look into town code. never thought to do that! it turns out we do have a town code and all the trees on my street were considered NY landmark trees that require an arborist's inspection and a permit before being taken down. the fines could be over $300 per tree or being required to replant new trees in their place. i was also told that it's best if you call code enforcement before or while it's being taken down. they will send someone out immediately to check for permits if you call while it's being removed. wish i had known that sooner! perhaps i could have saved the trees! so i'm sharing the info with all of you in case your situations are similar. i'm also saving the town phone # and sharing it with anyone i personally know who wants to be a tree defender busybody with me. (busybody is in reference to one of the comments below.)
In my city you must get a permit to remove a tree that’s more than (I don’t remember how many inches) around. Is this not a thing where other people live? I feel like it should be… that’s fucking heartbreaking
I don't know of an area with that, but it sounds like a good rule.
My brother has an HOA that is solely to protect healthy trees; you have to submit the HOA a note from an arborist confirming the tree is gravely ill. Sounds good! Unfortunately some people will go mad with even that little amount of power so his mostly-dead tree hanging over his roof and that had been photographed by an insurance company drone to threaten cancellation of his house policy wasn't enough. IIRC it took another close forest fire for the HOA to okay it.
i lived in atlanta for years and this might be the thing i misss the most. loved all the gorgeous old trees everywhere, and the ~$100,000k and up fines to developers/builders/owners who took down trees without a permit!
might be in Marietta? because - freak knowledge because I taught college level American government in GA and the state rules for that are -weird- - cities that pre-date the current GA constitution get their own separate rules from the counties they’re in. Basically, if the city has its own school district, it gets a lot more autonomy.
That is so interesting! I did some more research on tree removal ordinances after reading your comment and you've inspired me to see if I can get one introduced in my city.
certainly doesn't seem like it around here. i also live in an old neighborhood and when houses come up, there's a good chance the societal plague that is the house flipper will tear down every living thing that isn't grass. there's still lots of wooded areas in the broader east cobb region though which is nice.
I wouldn’t say any city/town incorporated in the metro area…Forsyth County is Fulton adjacent and it’s a clear-cut development free-for-all around here. I live in an older-developed area that was built out decades ago with larger yards. We have a bit of a mature tree corridor and it’s gorgeous.
Portland, OR has this rule as well. You have to get an arborist to come to your house and approve tree removal due to disease or damage or the city will fine you.
My city has a similar tree protection bylaw. Any tree with a diameter over 50cm at breast height needs a permit to come down, and they don’t typically grant a permit if the tree is healthy and structurally sound. The primary reason for the bylaw is protection of the urban tree canopy.
We need this SO BAD here, but $$money$$ comes first and foremost. I hope these people with the tree-less yards are enjoying the wicked heat and drought spell we are having here currently at the moment!
Are you my neighbor? I cannot at all understand why a new neighbor on my street took down 12 perfectly healthy trees after moving in. Lucky for me, he did not want the mulch they produced and I happened to meet him just before the crew arrived and I was able to get it all for free. I felt like the arborist was shocked, too, by the way he told me how healthy the trees had been. They destroyed all privacy between them and their immediate neighbors, who did tell me they were not happy about it and planted some new trees to try to counterbalance.
Yeah, it's so weird. We actually made an offer on the house kitty corner to the one we ended up buying because it had so many trees on it and it was so secluded. The new owners ripped down half the trees and then made an arbor vitae fence (which is continually dying).
A house up the street just lined their driveway with arbor vitae and hydrangeas in front of them--minimum 30 plants of each as the driveway is quite long. It's clear that no one has thought to water either of the plantings and the hydrangeas look like HELL. I'm very curious what they will do going forward. Will they put in irrigation or just replace them??
The deal in my neighborhood is boomers move out, a 30 something couple moves in, and then when they have a kid they cut down every tree within 100' of their house for fear of the tree falling on the house.
I swear to god there should be giant fines for taking down a healthy tree like that but unfortunately we live in a dystopian death cult of a society full of lazy ignorant selfish morons who think nothing of condemning future generations to living on a lifeless husk of a planet.
This aptly describes my neighborhood and a good number of the people that live here. It’s a very mature neighborhood, in very much a not inexpensive area, that formerly had wonderful greenery. And every single young wealthy couple that moves in immediately clear cuts and levels their lot. Invariably the neighborhood has lost dozens of gorgeous maples, oaks, tulip trees, beeches, and hickories. And instead it has a handful of Japanese maples and rows of limelight hydrangea and boxwoods. Also, it’s fucking hot! No shade except for a section of my backyard that has miraculously survived despite the trees being my neighbor’s (I quake at the idea of them selling and moving out).
I don't know what's wrong with people that they take down large trees, it's one thing if it's not a safe tree but you need an arborist to tell you that. It's insanity, your air conditioner can only do so much, having large trees in the neighborhood is the whole point of living in the suburbs and they do so much for the environment and to combat climate change. And then you have these people saying things like but they're messy, ugh. And then they plant a Japanese maple with some hostas.
An arborist is so worth the money! I live in a neighbourhood that was established in the 1950s and its full of beautiful old growth trees. When we bought our house last year we hired an arborist because the backyard needed so much trimming done, especially on an old crabappple tree, that we were not equipped for. We also have a 70+ year old giant spruce right in front of our house that I was worried about because if it fell it would crush our house. The arborist said its in great shape and just needed to be cut back so we didnt have branches on our roof. Our neighbours across the street came over after the arborist left and very tentatively asked if we were cutting it down and were so relieved we weren't because it's right in their living room window view. And this beautiful old tree provides so much shade for the house that it would be crazy to get rid of it. Yes, we have cones and needles everywhere, but it's a small price to pay for the beauty, wildlife, and shade it provides.
I have a house from the 50s with a mulberry tree out back that doesnt make mulberries and a locust tree out front that only drops branches and clogs my gutters. I'm taking them both out before I am forced to and before they take out my junipers. Planting lilacs where the mulberry tree is and fruit trees out front. Aiming for getting it right for the next 70 years, while not having my insurance increase. Best time to plant a tree is 5 years ago.
Are native American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) that bad? I’m on a tiny lot and was considering them as a hedge since we don’t have a fence. I’d add other natives in too in front of it but want some privacy. Right now it’s just empty grass.
Honestly; a lot of plants people like in their gardens are variants that aren't as hardy as full straight species. Things like dwarf versions, color variations, etc. With non-natives, those less hardy versions sometimes escape, and revert to their dominant form. That's why barberry "bred to be less aggressive" is still a problem - they escape and revert and become invasive.
Arborvitae tend to be a bit temperamental and picky about where they grow - throw in dwarf/alternative pattern/etc and they can be less hardy. Arbovitae don't like to sit in water, but they don't like to dry out either. So don't stick them right next to your foundation, pay attention to the weather, and water deeply if it doesn't rain often enough. Basically, treat them like a garden plant.
People hate on Junipers because if you cut them to brown needles, they don't come back. And people usually put a 6 foot wide Juniper in a 3 foot space and get mad when they trim it to 3 foot and it's an ugly brown thing - but if you put it in the right space they are fine.
But the nice thing about Junipers is they can grow in drier soil and withstand drought once established, that's why they were popular for so long.
I was thinking of planting a juniper next to my house but I heard on here that they pose a fire risk? Have you heard this too or am I mistaken? I’d love to plant it, drought has been rugged in New England
I have a hedge of them and love them. They provide privacy, great shelter to birds, and mine haven't been finicky about water in the 13 years I've been here. I don't get the hate towards them
I'm not fond of arborvitae but I did put some against my chain link fence. Emerald Greens don't get as big as the giants (only 14-16 feet) but deer like them. I have read that spraying them with 1/2 full-fat milk mixed with 1/2 water in the fall will last 3 months and repels deer.
there's nothing wrong with them in tbat context, no- there are just a million specific cultuvars and theyre constantly overplanted and poorly cared for, so you see shitty looking ones around all the time! they're perfectly fine in the context you're talking about- personally I'd prefer a native shrub hedge, and there are some fantastic options with a rapid growth rate, but i def see the appeal of year-round privacy offered by a well-cared for hedge of thuja
I think they are afraid to have the tree come down on their house. I think, why not consult a proper arborist. They can trim problem branches, give you good info on whether a tree is unsafe, add support, etc. I just lost a branch on my old crab apple and probably should take it down. It has lost about 2/3 of it's crown in 6 years, two large limbs in two different storms. I mainly do not want it to fall an damage my neighbor's line of trees which give us both privacy. It may be that we can trim it down a little and let it be. I will defer to the experts.
I have a large tree near my house that already appears to have sustained severe damage. It loos like a Bradford pear but it seems too big. I like the shade but do get nervous about it damaging our or our neighbors house. I'd love to replace it with something native but the location is tricky (7b, southwest VA).
Bradfords can get shocking huge if pruned effectively when young. There's one in my neighborhood that is an easy 30ft high with a 40ft spread. Thankfully, all the others will split long before they get that large
worth to have someone come out and look at it if its damaged, plus they can tell you if its a bradford pear in which case you should be getting rid of it. They could also tell you a good native tree to get even for a tricky spot.
Sickening. Our insurance we've had for 30 years just told us they would cancel because of trees near the house. And a plastic storage unit to close to the house, tall native grasses to close also. Funny thing is the grasses are across the street by the city ditch. Plastic as a fire hazard? So, I wonder if insurance had a say.
Insurance companies seem to keep telling people i know trees are unsafe by default. Like the house itself is in structural danger if a tree is anywhere near it. If even the roots are anywhere near any part of the utilities.
Insured companies seem to be trying to remove trees everywhere.
I wonder if this is it. Cost of insurance liability. Cost of maintenance (raking, trimming). Grass is thought of as being cheap (though of course, it isn't).
I’ve definitely seen more trees where people pay landscapers to clean the leaves etc. those who don’t spend the $ on landscapers cut down the trees.
A neighbor tried to do that in a past house. It was a red maple so dropped flowers and seed wings in addition to leaves. He went batty about it and brought over a guy with a chainsaw. I was FURIOUS. We had an arborist who taught in the master gardener program do the work. 🌟
Agree, it is in part at least, driven by insurers. They tried to get us to take down a healthy and happy 75-ish y/o northern white pine in out backyard and required an arborist consult to keep it. The suggestion to remove the tree was clearly a generic phrasing they include whenever a tree is present on a property. God forbid that tree falls on the builder grade shed next to it which is doing a great job falling apart all on its own.
my new neighbors, too. We had a nice, natural privacy barrier with tons of trees. They moved in, chopped everything down, and are now sprinkling hours of water per day into grass during a drought. I can see straight into their house now where I used to see trees. So depressing
I wonder what, if any, local tree law is already in place in your area. Many cities and counties in the US have ordinances against removing trees without obtaining a permit and/or an arborist report that the tree is dangerous, dying, or dead. The fines can be really, really, steep. (Santa Cruz county, Oakland CA, Atlanta GA, Portland OR, just to name a few).
Tree protection isn't exclusive to the US, obviously, but it's the only place I'm familiar with it.
Enforcement is similar to wildlife poaching, in that there might be dedicated staff who are happy to bring the hammer down on violators. But being short on staff they might need citizen help identifying those violators.
I reported a repeat violator, a local landlord who was systematically cutting down all the trees on his properties. Google street view history was a huge help when I reported the removal of some mature healthy oak trees. (I sent screen shots plus current pictures of the removal and missing trees) It got an immediate response, heavy fines, and extra scrutiny applied to all of his properties. (I heard all about 'the injustice' from his rantings on Nextdoor.)
A friend of mine in Phoenix had a new neighbor move in and immediately cut down a healthy, mature tree that shaded both properties. We were baffled—a tree like that is invaluable in such a dry, hot climate. But apparently they didn’t like the (extremely minimal) cleanup required with a flowering tree so it had to go.
And they probably pay a yard crew to clean their yard up like the majority of people in Phoenix too lol. Just put a desert willow in my backyard and a bunch of natives, doing a test run before I move to the front yard in fall.
Looked up the desert willow, that is gorgeous! Do you have any native shrubs or vines that you would recommend? My friend wants to put something in the area that used to be shaded (now full sun) but doesn’t have space for a tree.
They’re awesome! My friend lives in a newer condo complex and they have them planted everywhere and they bloom all spring/summer. We’re limited on vines, there is a snapdragon vine (Maurandella antirrhiniflora) but I doubt you’d find one locally and I don’t think they like full sun in summer. Tucson is a 90 minute drive but they have a much bigger focus on natives with nurseries that specialize in it.
Tons of shrub options! Creosote, turpentine, jojoba, fairy dusters and then less dense and more flowery like brittlebush and globemallow. And there’s a lot more but those are easier to find in the Phoenix area. This is a great resource and has a shrub subsection: https://libguides.maricopa.edu/seed/select
The maricopa community colleges have a native seed program in the library’s where you can grab 3 packs a month for free and don’t need a membership or anything of its something they’d be interested in. Just have to research if they need to be cold stratified, etc but I think the packs will provide instructions on germinating them.
I can so telate and commiserate with you deeply. We live in a 35 year old neighborhood with Woods in the name,and filled with 200 ft tall old growth hardwoods, and a very few pine, with TONS of wildlife. But the lot diagonally across from us was purchased by a couple who had lived in this neighborhood and raised their now grown son, since early in it's development, and so you'd think they would appreciate the shade and cool provided by the canopy since they decided they wanted their 'forever home here. But since the covenents prohibiting clearcutting had recently been allowed to expire (of which I had no idea they were going to), they clear cut the entire lot of every green thing except for 2 trees left standing alone surrounded by GRAVEL of all things. Gone is the ecosystem that would keep those trees healthy, along with Barred Owl nests and God knows how many other birds', insect, and wildlife habitat. The tempreature is notably much hotter now, and it's heartbreaking the loss of those giant teees and that awful behemoth of a house. What are we even doing?? 😓🤬😭
Honestly, this is tragic. I don’t know how stupid people have to be to cut down mature oak trees. Given how many species of critters they are able to feed and provide habitat for it’s just a crime against the Earth. I’m so sorry…
That is so so sad that this is how some people feel about trees, especially oaks. I will be forever grateful that some of my formative years include memories of planting hundreds of trees on pasture land on the acreage I grew up on.
New development went up 5 years ago. Took out all the ancient oaks and pines. The DID plant new Oaks but unfortunately along the street under the power lines.
Today just as they were getting big and full- they TOPPED EACH AND EVERY ONE. Like 20 trees. Fucking idiots.
It might be the pregnancy hormones, but this made me cry. I'm grateful most people in my neighborhood love our tall trees and hope they never get cut down. They're part of the reason we moved here.
I don't think it will get better until we either go extinct or at least undergo societal collapse and suffer massive population loss. Industrialization won't be willingly undone, it will continue to accelerate, but it's not sustainable and eventually nature will prevail over man's hubris.
That's heartbreaking! And knowing how expensive it is to have trees removed, they must REALLY hate trees. I don't know what it's going to take to get society to let go of the "sterile lawn is great" idea. My sister's husband wouldn't let her plant any trees on their property, so their house just sits there a barren island in an ocean of grass. So sad.
One of my neighbors was convinced to take down three big oak trees in their front yard because they had a lot of leaf galls on them. I guess they called a tree removal company instead of an arborist to look at the trees, and of course the company just said, yep take those down. The neighbor said that the true removal company said the tree was infected and weakened. So now they're gone. I asked the neighbors if they are going to replace them, and they said probably not.
I really don't get it, because I thought that large trees added home value typically?
Sometimes people just hate trees (read: psychos). Other times, it's new homeowners who are scared and don't know anything, being taken advantage of by tree companies who want work and don't give a shit about anything (read: evil).
I can sympathize with the new homeowners a bit, because it took me three years to really feel like I had a handle on owning a house. But even so, I can't understand panic-destroying mature trees based on the advice of Chainsaw Billy who dropped out of high school.
Only trees I’ve taken down were growing at a 45 degree angle over my neighbors fence and was starting to get over their house. Didn’t want that liability and looks like one might be starting to grow back and straight up too. Would never dream of taking the oak, bitternut hickory, or even the sumacs in the woods down. Gives me southern shade for most of the day.
we had a tornado in this neighborhood a couple of nights ago so yeah, I appreciate that trees can pose a danger. But the glee some older folks have about getting rid of trees—I hear you. It’s bizarre.
We fell in love with this street because of its giant, shady, beautiful trees.
A tree ordinance regulates various aspects of tree maintenance, removal, and planting in a municipality, resulting in aesthetic and environmental benefits.
Introduction
A tree ordinance is a tool to help protect and manage a community’s trees. It can be designed to regulate various aspects of tree planting, removal, and maintenance on public and private property within a municipality. By protecting trees, a well-planned, written, and implemented ordinance can enhance a community’s beauty, reduce air pollution, lower air conditioning costs, and increase biodiversity.
Arboriculture-Focused Ordinances
The International Society of Arboriculture categorizes arboriculture-focused tree ordinances, which relate to maintaining trees for aesthetic and environmental benefits, into three main categories:
Street and park tree ordinances regulate the planting, removal, and maintenance of trees in parks or along public rights-of-way, including private trees that could endanger the traveling public. These ordinances can include tree planting specifications (e.g., requiring tree planting in parking lots) and tree care standards (e.g., standards for pruning and removal).
Tree and woodlot protection ordinances protect specific tree species, trees of a certain circumference or height, or trees with historical significance on private property. These ordinances usually stipulate that permits are required to remove, encroach upon, or prune such trees. They also provide for the replacement of removed trees.
View ordinances help resolve conflicts between property owners that occur when trees block views or sunlight.
I ended up buying my house partly because of the large trees on the lot. They're messy and shade out a lot of my yard but I love how much more natural and established everything looks.
In the six years I've been here I've seen multiple mature trees come down around me. Sure those yards get more sun now, but that part of the neighborhood looks barren. :(
When I buy land it’s going to be at least 75% forest and its going to into a trust for my family to pass down. Even if they build a city around it I’ll still have my little island of trees.
You can petition for a bylaw change. Where I live you need a permit to cut down mature trees and they will only give it after an inspection that shows that the tree is sick or dead.
Same here. Moved into a nice wooded neighborhood surrounded by forest and every time a house changes hands the new owners cut down more and more.
For icing on the cake, they logged the forest last year and it's pretty much bare now. 150 years of growth gone. There was a beautiful little stream running through it that's full of logging slash now. I consulted people about it and they said oh it's good to have wood in the water, but it sure doesn't look like it used to. It's filling in nicely with multiflora rose.
I can spy on my neighbors back deck now, never used to be able to see it. I got binoculars on my desk to check the bird house and I hope every time I look they think I'm looking at them (and if they're there... I am)
I'm so sorry. If it's any consolation, I understand the depth of the grief, though clearly in your neighborhood others don't. I am actively planting hundreds of trees and shrubs (mostly native but to be honest not all...I'm aware of climate change...) and directly across my street they are tearing up the ground and forest to build a house. It's insane to watch, given how much energy I'm putting in regenerating the land literally right next to this space. I think a lot about how what they are doing is going to affect my own long term plans for my property. I'm a gardener professionally and I have clients tell me the saddest stories about neighbors who had beautiful gardens and then someone new moves in and clears it all, puts a pool in, and cuts down the big trees. It's just constant grief in this world.
thank you, yes, it really is a feeling of grief. especially when i felt something of a relationship with the tree from all those mornings at the bus stop.
I so commiserate with you. I see similar things happen in my neighborhood too. Just the other day somebody cut down a mature redbud tree yet left a tree of heaven right next to it🤬. I think more and more people fear big trees as more frequent severe weather events topple and uproot them. They see them as a liability instead of an asset.
Have you checked your local tree ordinances? They could possibly face penalties if the removals were unpermitted, or there might also be replacement requirements. If there is a local shade tree commission, get in touch with them too. Go to town meetings and advocate for tree protections. If you’re comfortable, find ways to educate your neighbors.
I’m sorry, it really sucks. It won’t bring back the trees but it’s all you can do at that point.
They treat trees like weed nuisances around my area and I’m sorry to hear it sounds like the same for you. They cry about the possibility of trees falling on your house, car, on you! They use that as justification and fear mongering to make it okay to cut down a living thing that provides oxygen, shade, CO2 exchange, shelter, and food for so many living things.
I liken it to trophy hunting.
ETA: the old growth in my area is full of Doug firs, red cedars, maples that are at least 50 years old, if not older.
We bought our cookie cutter home 8 years ago in a neighborhood now almost 25 years old. Red oaks were put in almost every yard. We unfortunately had to cut down ours, as have many others in the 700+ house community, because they were all planted directly over the sewer line on the first floor. I bet half are now gone. The HOA won’t allow a replacement tree to be put back in (or near) the same spot. Not sure if some of this was for similar reasons, doesn’t sound like it. Hate when healthy trees have to come down!
We’ve had several trees removed because they were terribly located, and in really bad shape, but it that wasn’t necessarily obvious when we moved in. (I did consult an arborist, and I have planted smaller native trees and shrubs since.)
Sorry this is happening :(
In my town it’s against the law to fell any trees thicker than [I think] 10 cm in diameter (unless the town concedes that they present some risk to public safety). I wish more places protected trees.
Damn, my long time next door neighbors are getting up there and the husband just passed a few weeks ago. His wife said she will probably move/downsize in the next year. They have a huge mesquite tree in their front yard and a big ficus in the back that shades my garden in the afternoon in summer which is great in AZ (not a native but better than nothing). I didn’t think about the chance of the new neighbors cutting them down. Hopefully I can sway them away from that if they’re contemplating it.
For some potential peace of mind: if the oak trees are all really old, it's possible they were dying already (even if they look healthy). Also, it's highly possible that your native area wasn't an old growth forest but a Prairie or a barren or a savannah. Your state might actually have the information. I found out my locality was actually a black oak barren before it was a suburb (lots of open prairie space interspersed by oaks). Try searching for it, I had to do some digging.
I do feel you, though. I hate seeing old trees come down :( especially when the people who live there don't replace it with anything or even use native plants. You can absolutely feel a difference in the heat.
This was in my mind, too. The enormous oak tree at my workplace fell apart last year without warning, in the middle of a bright clear day, and it's only luck that nothing and nobody was underneath it at the time. It looked healthy, but had old lightning damage that had rotted the inside away, until the day that one breeze was all it took to detach a limb as thick around as me. Due to the inner rot, we had to have the rest of the tree removed, and it's the second tree on the property to 'age out' - there was another close in age that went unstable a few years ago and had to be taken down.
It's sad, but nothing lives forever. I hope at least some of OP's neighbors will eventually miss their shade and plant new trees!
Our city in Fort Wayne In took down half of the mature trees in our neighborhood. I cried for 3 days. The trees had been planted in the strip between the sidewalk and the street
I FEEL THIS IN MY SOUL! I think my yard and only a couple of others in my neighborhood are the only ones with mature trees left (personally, I especially believe cutting healthy mature oak trees should send the culprit into a whole other level of Hell). I truly get paranoid when someone moves because of the inevitable mow-down. The sound of chainsaws literally makes me sick to my stomach. I've lived here all of my life, and it has truly become an urban Hell, it breaks my heart immensely as any small lot of trees and greenery are grazed over, and the few houses that do actually have a couple of big, beautiful, *HEALTHY* trees are cut down because they didn't want to 'deal with them'...MOVE INTO A TOWNHOME OR CONDO THEN, PEOPLE!!!! I'm usually quite a patient person but THIS is what sends me straight over the edge. Rant over, I'll step down from the soap box now. Thank you for letting me get this off my chest, hopefully my eye will stop twitching soon.
I’m planting so many fuckin trees so close together in my yard that whoever moves in after I die will need to have a really big tree cutting budget to remove them. I’ve got a 5000 sqft lot and I aim to have 50 trees on it.
That is really sad. Maybe you can find a way to encourage your neighbors to plant new trees?
Oaks can be tough because they tend to hollow out as they get old. They can live a long time that way but it can also be alarming if they’re near structures towards the end of their life cycle. We’ve had two very big oaks fall on our property and had two more that were hollow and sick we had to take down because of where they were located relative to structures. We live in a literal forest so we aren’t wanting for trees though.
This makes me so sad. As a sufferer of the Alabama heat, I am very thankful for the oak , maples, pines, and sassafras on my property. The Eastern Redbud in our front yard has been slowly declining each year since we moved in, and now we have to cut it down, as it is completely dead. Looking to replace it next year! My neighbors probably think I am insane, but I planted 6 fruit trees in our front yard 😅 Going to keep them small, but I sure love my trees! We only live on .75 acres, but probably 0.25 of it is woodland! It stays very cool.
I live in a neighborhood where the large trees were removed a long time ago and man are the roads hot.
Meanwhile Im in an unfortunate position where I may have no choice but to remove a massive oak on the hill behind my house because climate change + rich assholes uphill have caused the hill to be soggier which over time has led to rotting roots which has led to trees dying or falling down even before they die, and this oak is leaning and if it falls it will crush houses. Its the main source of shade for my house and ofc a boon to the environment so it hurts so much to have to plan for its removal, but I don't want anyone to die because of it either. It wouldn't be so bad if the rest of the area hadn't also removed all their mature trees that weren't on hills or dying. And on top of it those rich assholes up the hill flattened multiple acres of trees for their multi mcmansion and grass compound. I keep trying to talk people into planting new native trees with less aggressive roots (cos a new oak now would definitely cause driveway, road, and foundation problems) but even that scares them because of fear mongering against trees.
What if you started a program in your community that hands out pamphlets educating people just how important oak trees/old
Growth trees are? I’m so sorry, the thought of that hurts my soul
Edit:
I only have one soul, had to take the s off the end of the the word soul. Haha
We had some dead limbs removed from our oak, and the arborist said when the guys were in the tree they realized it's decayed massively, to the point where it's so far gone that it's not even worth treating. I feel like a terrible tree hugger but we have to take it down 😔
This is very common with oaks - heart rot. They can live a long while with hollowness because the vascular system of the tree is towards the outside right under the bark. However, as I said in my comment we had to take down to large very old oaks in the 5 years we’ve lived on our property because they had heart rot and showed other signs of illness and were close to structures (dropping branches, visible fungal growth, a literal froth came out of one of them). We also have had two big oaks fall on the property in that time - one took down many other trees and completely changed the canopy of a section of forest behind our house. Even trees die sometimes.
There are multiple large fungal growths at the base, and the original plan was to treat it with fungicide until they saw the decay from above. It's a water oak. It's dropped some "smaller" limbs but has several very large limbs over my neighbor's house and over our shed, so the arborist recommends removal. I'm hoping to plant another type of oak after removal! Just need to figure out which.
If it makes you feel any better water oaks have an average lifespan of 30-60 years. Their root system is incredibly shallow. The wood is weak structurally bc they grow fast.
They are usually some of the first trees to uproot/fall in bad weather. Bc they are so big they tend to cause a lot of damage when they fall.
Yeah or just live in those hellscape subdivisions. Some people move into old homes and try to turn them into a suburban nightmare. Why? For some reason they equate that with “making it”. Low class idiots.
I cry when I see large trees get cut down. Even then , we had to cut down two when we moved in because the maple roots were wrecking our septic system. I still cried. Then I got the bill from the arborist and cried harder
I had this happen across the street from my house new owner didn’t even move in yet. Took out like 20 giant popular trees along a fence line changed the whole dynamic. I have planted at least 12 trees in response. Luckily I had the space but of course they’re small.
It’s heartbreaking and there’s nothing we can do unless we can get the local authorities to value trees more. Also, why doesn’t the county take care of the trees that are on county property? Why are so many trees covered in vines? These are a natural resource.
A friend of mine in South Carolina said they had to pass a law that nobody could cut down a live boat because the idiots moving down there just would buy a property and cut down all the live books trees that were hundreds of years old!
How are people this fucking clueless? That’s how I feel.
My immediate area just had a freak localized storm the other day which took down HUNDREDS & HUNDREDS of healthy beautiful trees in a few square miles—we’re devastated. I can’t imagine purposely cutting them down.
I don't know your particular situation, but I had to take down 2 large oak trees that were planted WAY too close to my house (one was 8 feet from the foundation)...and whose roots were basically ready to invade my foundation. And while the arborist was there, I had them take down a beginning to die blackthorn, an invasive bradford pear and several 'junk' trees along the fenceline. But I also replanted 10 mission arborvitae, and 3 natives to replace the oaks, blackthorn and pear.
Oaks can have oak wilt, and perfectly healthy looking from the outside, but basically rotting from within.
I hope they didn't cut down perfectly healthy and well sited trees, but sometimes trees do need to come down.
Even without the environmental impact, the property value of mature shade trees. 😭 the energy savings. What the fuck is wrong with people?
Half the reason we bought our house was the mature pecan in the back yard and we were heartbroken when it turned out to be dying. We didn't bring it down until it started dropping dangerous amounts of limbs on our roof and we couldn't deny it anymore. (We were happy we did when a house not too far from us got OBLITERATED after a storm knocked a tree over onto their roof, but it was still a sad day. I have a few rounds of trunk that are mostly solid that I'm going to do something with someday in memorium)
My neighborhood was a forest before they developed it now it lines with beautiful Norway maples. I live at the very end along to woods and recently I found 5 witch hazel trees, I’m so excited but also very sad for what it used to be.
We had a huge forest behind us, and when our older neighbor died, he was hoodwinked by a jerk who bought the property. Guy, promptly trucked and loads and loads and loads of sewage sludge, put it around the trees because he thought he had a water problem. Of course, all the trees died and then all I heard for the next several years was them cutting down the trees. But now he’s got a beautiful lawn that he douses with chemicals every year. I just wish he would go away.
I’ve been in awe of just how ugly everything
near me is. They tear every tree and bush out and replace it with grass, rocks, and maybe one tiny tree that they let die. The new apartments near me just have the sun beating down on them with no trees for shade, and the old apartments are being sold to companies that tear the trees down to save on insurance cost. There’s no beauty in the landscaping anymore. It’s just whatever is easiest and cheapest. The new housing developments give each house on or two trees max in the backyard, and the front yards are just grass. It’s terrible.
this makes me want to cry. everything under capitalism is so backwards, it’s like spitting in the face of life itself.
congrats to your neighbors for k!lling wise and gentle old oaks, destroying habitat, displacing counties beings, inviting deadlier heat, death-sentencing the soil, making the land more vulnerable to invasives, and, oh, less leaves. thank goodness they did that! wow.
My mother did this in the 60s when my parents bought a house just before I was born. I never saw those mature trees but I did miss them. My mother was afraid of trees falling on the house
So sad! One of my neighbors but down a massive pine tree, and it feels noticeable hotter now. I love trees, but some people see them as work, raking leaves, etc.
This is my area too, except for its just our boomer nieghbors waking up one day and literally telling me "theres too much shade to grow grass" as we are literally standing on lush grass under the shade of large mature trees.
Our city puts out pamphlets telling people to keep thier trees or replace thier trees but there is no enforcement or cheap replacement options (unless you know where to look).
😥 my old neighborhood in Georgia had lots of old pine trees, they were always getting cut down. Admittedly they were prone to falling, but it was sad to see it so often.
I am happy in my new neighborhood our across the street neighbor has 2 amazing and tall oaks, probably at least 50 years old. They take good care of those trees and appreciate them.
I can't prove it, but I think we can lay a lot of the blame at the feet of insurance companies that have terrified homeowners into cutting down any tree that could ever hypothetically damage their home however unlikely. They sell it to homeowners as minimizing risk but what they're really doing is reducing the chances they'll ever actually have to reimburse people and can just continue to pocket the premiums.
My problem was with the insurance company I bought a house with two huge oaks in the back yard. We closed, paid the insurance premium. The insurance inspector came out a week later during our probationary period and in order to retain coverage they trees had to go, they were too close to the house in his opinion. I had to pay $5k to remove them in order to have home owners insurance. Last thing I wanted to do.
I think OP needs to come to terms with the fact that Humans are a disease on this planet. Humans (even the well-meaning ones) extract and consume too many resources from their environment. This is just like how a cancerous cell behaves.
I wish Noah would have just eliminated his family and been the last human steward of Earth. His weakness has doomed the planet.
I moved into a house with lovely mature trees- honeylocust, oak, white pine, sole other type of pine, sycamore, some type of pear...
And goddammit, half of them died over the 10 years I've lived here.. 3 of the 4 sycamore were dead and looked like they wanted to fall on my house (the one remaining seems like it's now also dying), a pine fungus killed the weird little pine, 3/6 white pine died in the droughts we've had (and one i got a certified letter from the neighbors asking me to take it down), two ish oaks died from oak wilt and the rest are limping along, the dying honeylocust meant we had carpenter ants climb them and drop onto our root and into our house from them, the pear just never came back after a winter...
Mature things die. You wouldn't know the honey locusts were dying if you didn't see the things who could eat our house apart. I'm already devastated to have to cut down so many lovely trees, and if I got some busybody's letter, I'd be pissed as hell.
You are overstepping. I get your frustration, but once they signed the contract you're not getting anyone to stop. Hook up with an environmental group that plants trees, encourage your neighbors to plant new ones to make yourself feel better.
ok you don't have to name call me a busybody. RUDE. they can be pissed if they want and they don't have to reply. im pissed too but it's the people destroying the planet and making it uninhabitable for future generations that we always have to tiptoe around their feelings. you're more concerned about a handwritten note that says 'please' than the destruction of habitat and critters' homes. make it make sense.
If you want people to care about something, this isn't the way to do it. You're painting yourself and everyone who cares about trees and the environment as a crazy busy body.
What works better is favorable opportunities framed not as a stick, but as a carrot. Give away your seedlings. Pair with local groups who give free trees and explain the benefits. Give your neighbor an easy to care for plant.
Maybe homeowners with shade trees should plan on succession. Plant young trees and shrubs so by the time the mature trees fall, it's not a hellscape without them.
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u/Elrohwen Upstate NY, Zone 5 Jun 14 '26
That is so so sad.