Pretty sure my neighbor wants tree dead

Tanya Dowd · Jun 15, 2018

Lived in the same location for 50 years, and I remember when we first moved here, our neighbor was upset that our pine tree was killing her grass. She had a pine tree too back then, but she got rid of hers. Now she's got perfect grass except on the part of her yard where my pine tree overshadows. She's been after me for 40 years to get it cut down. Now I remember once, a long long time ago one of our neighbors came over with the 'solution' to our living evergreen trees. She found away to kill them by the roots. I wasn't impressed. I like my evergreen trees, I have a matching pair on each side of my lawn. I suspect my neighbor has decided to go ahead and kill my evergreen tree, or attempt too. I'm not sure how to prove it, all I can say is every branch is dead except around the tippy top where it's lush, green and thriving. She keeps trying to convince me that the thing is dead and may fall on her house, or my house and I should pay $1000+ to chop it down. Should I start doing weekly soil tests? What needs to be done here? I don't like offending her, she's very, very nice otherwise. But I love my tree.

Del_ · Jun 15, 2018

Looks like you'll be cutting down your tree.

CacaoBoy · Jun 16, 2018

Tanya Dowd said:
every branch is dead except around the tippy top where it's lush, green and thriving. She keeps trying to convince me that the thing is dead and may fall on her house, or my house and I should pay $1000+ to chop it down. . . . I love my tree.

Photo?

Do you love the tree as it is? Or as it was?

Assuming the tree is beyond recovery it should come down before it falls and hurts someone or damages something. In that case, the question is who pays for it. If you could prove your neighbor is responsible for injury to the tree, it might be her responsibility to pay for the removal, but it might not. That is going to depend on your local law, and you would need to consult an attorney to find out. And if you can prove the neighbor is responsible she might owe you for the loss of a valuable tree, but again that is something that would depend on local law and the facts of this case, which could include what your neighbor did that injured the tree and whether it was done without trespassing on your property.

Have you asked your neighbor to pay the cost to remove the tree? Or split the cost with her?

gunny100 · Sep 4, 2018

some one could cut it down for free for the firewood

lknchoppers · Sep 6, 2018

Get an estimate to take it down and tell her you will have it done if she pays half. No matter how or why it is just about dead and needs to come down before it really causes a problem. Soil tests and lawyers will just cost more money and won't bring the tree back.