Trees bring so many benefits to our lives: they clean the air, provide homes for wildlife, cast shade, help your home be more energy efficient, and they can provide food and offer a glimpse of history, depending on how old they are. So when is it okay to chop one down? I never thought I'd be in a spot where this would have to be a decision. When my dad chopped down an (allegedly) diseased tree from the front of our home back in high school, I felt personally wounded. But now I get it.
When I bought my home, there were only two trees on the property. An ill-placed Queen Palm against my foundation (thankfully doesn't seem to be harming anything) and a small, anonymous tree that nicely shaded the back corner of my home 20 months ago, but has since taken on a grim pallor and dropped so many leaves they're mulching themselves in the branches.
After several weeks of searching online and taking leaf samples to local nurseries, no one could figure out what species it was. It didn't fruit, didn't have any flowers, was non-deciduous (evergreen), but not like any other evergreen I had seen. One thing we did know: it was sick. As the weeks progressed, several branches dried-out and the leaves became lacy. As I've finally had a little weekend time to tend to the cleanup and beginnings of a yard transformation, I decided I should cut down this tree and replace it with something that will not only give the benefits of the original tree, but more. A fruit tree will go in its place (actually, one full sized tree and two dwarfs), which will fit into my plan to have as many edible plants as possible on the property.
Of course there are many other reasons to cut down an existing tree: it is a danger to your home and just trimming the limbs won't render it safe or the roots could be tearing apart your plumbing and no other solutions have worked, or perhaps you have a different vision for your garden. I'm definitely not calling for a mass felling of trees, but I think that if it's not working for your situation and you have a better solution in mind, don't let free floating guilt get the best of you. In my case, cleaning up the area where the tree once stood will give me a mini orchard, which will benefit bees, birds, my friends and me.
Further reading: You Grow Girl: Cutting down an inconvenient tree...
(Images: Flickr member Jeffrey Beall used with permission)
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i work for an environmental consulting firm. we contract with the utility company (here in NorCal it's PG&E) to patrol the powerlines and inspect for dead, diseased, or otherwise dangerous vegetation that could impact the powerlines. it took me awhile to get used to this - i LOVE trees! but i eventually had to realize that what we are doing is not only good for people (keeping the power on, preventing fires, etc.), but it's actually good for the trees and forests as well. a tree that is burning in the lines is not likely to be a healthy tree. most of the trees we fully remove are diseased, beetle-killed or declining anyways, and they need to be taken out to make room for new, healthy young trees. we also have a really good PR program that helps give folks the info they need to plant the right tree in the right place. good topic!
*deciduous* trees are non-evergreen.
I just moved into a home which had a cluttered curb appeal and an over-growth that was damaging the basement due to a negative ground grade towards the foundation. We pretty much tore it ALL out. My rule of thumb: at least replace what you take out. We took out many miscellaneous plants and shrubs (mostly weeds or diseased bushes) and added in beautiful rose bushes, rose of sharon trees, dianthias and boxwoods. I certainly don't have a green thumb so now I can't go wrong!
One species of tree I'll never feel bad about cutting down is the Manitoba Maple. They reproduce and spread out like crazy.
When we moved to our small city lot (40X100) there were approximately 25 trees (mostly elm and ash) on the lot. It was ridiculous. Over the last eight years, we have removed about 20 of them, in three passes to give us time to do the landscaping as we go. Now we are down to five trees, most of which are in a back hedgerow and the lot just works better. While it was hard to do, it was the right thing to do--overcrowded trees are not happy or healthy trees.
Last summer I lost 1/3 of a huge, ugly hackberry tree to carpenter ants. Luckily, the only damage was to my fence and gouges in the yard :(. Last Friday, another 1/3 came down. I was hesitant about taking it down because of all the wildlife I see using the tree but it has become dangerous. If the rest falls before my tree guy gets to it late this week, it will take out a power pole, pecan tree, and possibly my neighbor's house. I hate to lose the shade and take away from the native wildlife, but I'd hate to replace my neighbor's house more. I feel better knowing that my community uses yard trimmings and downed trees for steam power instead of just rotting in the dump, too.
Thanks for the catch RuralIdahoStyle! Writing while sleepy is not a good idea.
Individual homeowners should bear much less responsibility for cutting down a few trees out of necessity. It's all the use of Greenwashed products that come from supposedly sustainable logging that are ruining the atmosphere and the forests.
I find this post depressing. Over the weekend, my neighbor trimmed her healthy, beautiful tree (that I helped maintain!) to within an inch of its life, and once again my view is nothing but pavement and concrete. Thanks a lot, tree killers. You're all now on my bad side.
I'm a tree lover and I love that I have mature trees on my property. But I have 40+ trees on my land, half which are Southern Pines. The extra shade is nice in the Summer, but in the Winter the house never seems to stay warm for too long. Over the course of the next few years, I do plan on having at least half of the trees taken down - mostly the pines. The Poplars and Dogwoods can stay though! The main reason why I want the trees down is just the overall maintenance. The pines shed needles and cones constantly through the year and the yard is overall unmanageable in the Fall. Each week in the Fall, I probably put out at least 6 bags of yard waste. I know it's compostable, but it's still a lot of waste to be processed. And because there are so many trees, I barely have any sunny spots in the yard for anything but weeds to grow in.
well...*after* the tree falls on your house, you really reconsider whether you should do a bit more about your trees *before* they fall.
(fortunately, it only crushed some of the porch, but with 15 feet of trunk as the "stump", it could have done a lot more damage.)
@unabridged - most trees will put out more vigorous growth after a good trimming.
non-native is another good reason to remove, to let native trees flourish. they're working on getting rid of all the eucalyptus in the bay area.
I dont think i would feel bummed about cutting down a tree if it was just in my yard and not serving much of a purpose, but i would almost rather just get some tree trimming work done and make it look a little more presentable