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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

They've cut our tree!

291 replies

Auntieobem · 01/03/2022 15:03

We have a twisty willow at the bottom of the garden. I love it. Had it topped a couple of years ago - cost £££ but looking good. It overhang/ overhung next doors garden. Neighbours moved in a while ago - we've only spoken briefly but all pleasant enough.

I've just noticed that half the tree has been cut off. Tree looks ridiculously lop sided. Why onearth didn't they speak to us? I know they have a right to cut off anything which overhangs, but who not just warn us?? I feel really sad. Poor bloody tree!! Don't know when it was done, I've been working from home and never saw anything? They must have waited until we were all out? Aibu for being a bit annoyed?

OP posts:
godmum56 · 01/03/2022 18:56

[quote buckeejit]@FantasticFebruary thanks, got my grip! 🤣

Yes I do have a small amount of AstroTurf in my garden - it's great for where there's a lot of play equipment & difficult to cut grass in that area.

I also have some large areas of lawn & just done a rough count & have circa 33 trees in my garden with many many other plants & shrubs. One of the first things I would say about myself is that I love trees, (strange to most). It doesn't mean that I think every bloody tree on the planet shouldn't be pruned. [/quote]
yup...since I have lived here I have had 8 trees removed with the permission of the council's TPO management group. Trees grow and change and can outgrow their place or the place they are becomes not appropriate. My last protected oak is examined and pruned about every 4 years.

OMG13 · 01/03/2022 18:58

I agree that it would have been nice if your neighbours had spoken to you first and given you the option of having the tree professionally pruned. However, they didn’t and you can either a) let it go b) once you’re feeling better about it, go round and ask them to let you know in advance future if they have any plans to ‘trim’ any of your trees or shrubs, so that you can take action yourself to make sure the tree/shrub isn’t permanently damaged by their proposed actions c) continue to feel resentful about it and do nothing but simmer, which only hurts you.
Might also be worth weighing up how important it is to you to have good relations with your neighbours…..Just a thought. Good luck and for what it’s worth I don’t think you ABU - they have been unneighbourly.

LyndaSnellsSniff · 01/03/2022 19:00

We have a twisted willow which we pollard every 2 years. The second it's down it seems to grow straight back again.

Original poster
Auntieobem · 01/03/2022 19:01

They have a straggly apple tree in the corner.

OP posts:
ChardonnaysPetDragon · 01/03/2022 19:03

@Auntieobem

They have a straggly apple tree in the corner.
Not for long, I suppose.
Benjispruce5 · 01/03/2022 19:03

@RedBonnet you see, you know your neighbour likes it because you communicate. That’s what normal, decent people do.

ohtsmeagain · 01/03/2022 19:03

They are allowed to cut back the tree without any notice to you at all. That's the law. If you don't like it how they've done it, in future why don't you ensure that your tree doesn't go over the boundary? But I bet you'll just let it grow without any maintenance, and then get upset each time they cut it back.

HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend · 01/03/2022 19:04

* sorry posted too soon*

if you knew it over hanged into your neighbours garden why did you not take steps to maintain the tree?

At this point you should have take steps to maintain the tree and not intrude into your neighbours space/light!!!

You can’t now be all OMG they’ve cut my tree because you were being lax.

You should have maintained the tree, your neighbours shouldn’t have to bring it to your attention for you to take action Confused.

CHIRIBAYA · 01/03/2022 19:05

What is all this 'having to deal with leaves'? Isn't it just decaying organic matter that gets recycled into the environment? I would be more concerned about the endless plastic waste we have blowing around than a few leaves. I feel for you OP and reading this post I am so glad that nobody can touch any of the beautiful trees we have in our garden, they make my heart sing. Saying that I have no doubt if we sold up they would be lopped down and the garden concreted over for extra parking in a whisker.

Treecreature · 01/03/2022 19:05

Hope they are ready for rapid regrowth. Willows love a hair cut Smile

oviraptor21 · 01/03/2022 19:05

Lovely tree. Stupid neighbours. I can never understand people that want to hack down beautiful living things. And yes, it could have been done a whole lot better than it was.
Our neighbours did the same to one of our trees. Actually hacked back over our boundary which of course they are not allowed to do but who can stop them?. Tree looks ridiculous now. It was a beautiful tree but hardly worth looking at now as every time I do it annoys me. And no I didn't plant it. Previous neighbours had no problems with it - had been there over 20 years.

Treecreature · 01/03/2022 19:08

Also, they are so easy to take a cutting from. Put a willow stick in a bucket of water for a week and it'll throw roots out. If you feel this tree might be a problem, set some cuttings off and plant a new one. Also, the cuttings don't need to be small, I've done this with an 1.5 inch thick, 8 foot long branch and it took no worries, if you want an 'instant tree'.

Benjispruce5 · 01/03/2022 19:09

My garden is very mature as are the gardens surrounding. All of our trees and bushes overhang each other and it’s glorious. Free plants in my opinion! I get to see everyone else’s trees too instead of the backs of their houses. I enjoy privacy in the garden.

tigger1001 · 01/03/2022 19:12

@HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend

* sorry posted too soon*

if you knew it over hanged into your neighbours garden why did you not take steps to maintain the tree?

At this point you should have take steps to maintain the tree and not intrude into your neighbours space/light!!!

You can’t now be all OMG they’ve cut my tree because you were being lax.

You should have maintained the tree, your neighbours shouldn’t have to bring it to your attention for you to take action Confused.

I agree.

Op I think you need to resign yourself to get the tree regularly pruned. Which you should be doing not waiting until the neighbours get fed up and do it themselves. Be proactive and ensure it doesn't overhang into their garden

DontBeMean · 01/03/2022 19:15

I love trees and I love gardening. I’d have done the same as the neighbour. Weeping willows are not suitable for anything other than large gardens and to have one planted on a border is ridiculous and inconsiderate. That tree is only going to get bigger and bigger. It’s in the wrong place.
Weeping willows have huge roots. They can cause damage to drains and houses if planted anywhere close. They are also messy trees.
As a tree lover I’d chop it down and plant something native that’s more suitable.

They are beautiful trees when allowed to grow to full height and width, preferably in a country park along the banks of a river.

I’d have done the same as your neighbour.

EthelTheAardvark · 01/03/2022 19:18

YABU
You planted too close to boundary with no thought for neighbours

Try reading her posts, @curlymom. OP didn't plant the tree.

OakRowan · 01/03/2022 19:19

Yes, thats what I would do if it was in my garden, but get an aborist in to do the work, qualified, insured, professional tree surgery advice, don't do it yourselves on a weekend on my say so (20 plus years in professional horticulture but I'm just someone on the intenet after all) Twisted willows and hazels are grown as grafted plants onto plain willow and Hazel rootstocks, so you'd need to be sure you were cutting it to the right place, above the join, so it didn't revert to plain willow leaves. You could have it reduced over a couple of years, in stages, or do it in one go. You'd end up with a large shrub instead of all the growth coming off the high up trunk. You can definitely improve it.

OakRowan · 01/03/2022 19:20

@Auntieobem see above.

AngelinaFibres · 01/03/2022 19:20

Looks perfectly fine. It's tree not one of your arms.

Thisisconfusing · 01/03/2022 19:23

It would have been normal to tell you what they planned to do even if it was reasonable for them to want to cut it back . Tree surgeons also prefer it too - they usually point out that if a tree overhangs a garden even if there is absolutely right to cut it back , if that tree subsequently dies as a result then the neighbour who cut it back would actually be liable- so my tree surgeon has told me anyway! .

AngelinaFibres · 01/03/2022 19:25

@oviraptor21

Lovely tree. Stupid neighbours. I can never understand people that want to hack down beautiful living things. And yes, it could have been done a whole lot better than it was. Our neighbours did the same to one of our trees. Actually hacked back over our boundary which of course they are not allowed to do but who can stop them?. Tree looks ridiculous now. It was a beautiful tree but hardly worth looking at now as every time I do it annoys me. And no I didn't plant it. Previous neighbours had no problems with it - had been there over 20 years.
But your new neighbours do have a problem with it. They are allowed to have a different opinion about what is in their garden. Your tree is invading their space. They are allowed to object to that. Some trees are beautiful and in just the right place. Some trees are a PITA
godmum56 · 01/03/2022 19:32

@DontBeMean

I love trees and I love gardening. I’d have done the same as the neighbour. Weeping willows are not suitable for anything other than large gardens and to have one planted on a border is ridiculous and inconsiderate. That tree is only going to get bigger and bigger. It’s in the wrong place. Weeping willows have huge roots. They can cause damage to drains and houses if planted anywhere close. They are also messy trees. As a tree lover I’d chop it down and plant something native that’s more suitable. They are beautiful trees when allowed to grow to full height and width, preferably in a country park along the banks of a river.

I’d have done the same as your neighbour.

I was coming back to post exactly this.
godmum56 · 01/03/2022 19:33

@Thisisconfusing

It would have been normal to tell you what they planned to do even if it was reasonable for them to want to cut it back . Tree surgeons also prefer it too - they usually point out that if a tree overhangs a garden even if there is absolutely right to cut it back , if that tree subsequently dies as a result then the neighbour who cut it back would actually be liable- so my tree surgeon has told me anyway! .
you'd have to prove it first!
Emilyontmoor · 01/03/2022 19:36

Benji I know EXACTLY what is in the other side. Compete jungle (or rather ecological desert if someone is going to play the wildlife card), brambles, elder, holly, Ivy, a few fox dens and the trees I wasn’t able to reach to cut them back as saplings and several years worth of the cuttings which help mulch against more self seedlings. The brambles alone grow several feet a week into my roses and over my sheds and are a nightmare to cut back. I would fill a green waste bin each collection if I had to dispose of it all.

On my side meanwhile there a lovely climbers, a wildlife ponds and veg garden planted up alongside wildlife havens. There used to be a herbaceous border but Ai have had to replace that with jungle plants that don’t mind the shade.

It is enough of a imposition to constantly hack at it never mind deal with the prunings , which by the way it is custom, if no longer law, to throw back to the owner of the plant /tree. They really don’t care.

oviraptor21 · 01/03/2022 19:39

@AngelinaFibres Our new neighbours are arses in just about every way imaginable. I wont get started on the long list. Will just have to move rather sooner than originally planned. Which is a shame as the area has lots of covenants, etc which are intended to preserve the natural environment -one of the reasons we moved here in the first place. Neighbours just ignore them even though they knew about them when they bought the place.

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