Hi all – this tree is in my (currently unkept) back garden which has been neglected due to a big building project on the house and now needs proper planning. My apps tell me it’s a Japanese red cedar although I’m not too convinced as some images don’t seem to match. However it’s become quite wide and I’m not sure whether to prune it or chop it down (we’ve two free surgeons come look at it and both just wanted to chop it down and I soon realised they were just focused on getting the bigger price for that!) There’s obviously no right answer but I’m curious what others would do. The garden is south facing and it does block some light to the garden but mostly against the back wall which you can see although even with it gone it wouldn’t be a sun trap there. I do like the privacy it gives me as there is a 2 storey house directly behind however I could replace it would some 8ft-ish trees to at least give privacy to their lower floor. I have a little girl and imagined putting a swing on a branch for her however one branch did come down in a recent storm and I’m wondering whether replacing with a climbing frame is more practical. One main sticking point is I’ve read you can’t easily prune conifers as the needles only grow from where the needles already are – so for example as the branches have only the needles on the end as they keep growing out they get too long and if I cut a branch in half to expose just a woody end then no new needles grow, so in theory you’re always just having to tip prune. I can’t get a straight answer on this but that’s what I’ve read so curious on others’ thoughts here! Thanks!
by nomadickid942
49 Comments
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What exactly do you want to achieve with pruning? This is a conifer and at this size they basically only get maintenance pruning, that is, removal or dead or misshapen branches.
It’s a beautiful tree— I would hate to see it chopped down. Some maintenance pruning should be done. I would also give it a grass-free perimeter around its base.
There’s a ladder right there. Get on the $20k+ roof with a leaf blower and blow it off.
Try r/arborist or r/marijuanaenthusiasts (it’s a tree sub, long story) to get more takes. Lots more professional tree people on those. As you said, beware of local “tree guys” and look for certified arborists to get the best advice and work.
Please don’t go into this willy-nilly and uninformed. First, get it correctly identified so you know what you’re working with. Did the tree people who looked at it not identify it? Did they suggest why the tree should come down (disease, age) other than your own assumption that they wanted more money? If they were actual arborists and not just guys with chainsaws, they should’ve been able to tell you these things. Don’t work with guys who don’t know what they’re talking about if you want to prune rather than chop down!
If you were to decide to prune, even if you don’t do it yourself, please read thoroughly this is a tremendously helpful document from [the USDA Forest Service](https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev7_016046.pdf) about the objectives and reasons for pruning and how to correctly prune for tree health and best effect.
It’s stunning as is and a pretty giant like this one would definitely make your garden look nice. Please leave the tree as is, if possible and plan around it.
Why in the heck would you chop down that beauty
That’s a stunning tree. I’d put a bench or seating area under it to the left and then surround it with flowers, maybe a nice little winding path leading to it.
Some spring bulbs under the tree might also look very nice.
WHY do you want to prune it or remove it?
What’s your end goal?
Keep it beautiful tree
I can never understand people that want to cut down big old trees that aren’t sick. It’s really hard to replace and they add a lot of beauty and value. So keep it.
When it comes to pruning, beware! I’m not very familiar with cedars, but conifers will not back-bud like deciduous trees do. If you cut too far back, the branch might end up dying and nothing will replace it. Identify the tree and inform yourself how it should be pruned.
I hope you don’t cut this beauty down. Your little girl is going to love its shade in the hot summers to come.
That’s a nice tree “as is”. Just keep it. Prune a little if you’re set on it but don’t get rid of it!
Beautiful
One of the most important aspects of gardening is working within the constraints of the conditions you have. This tree is absolutely gorgeous. If it’s shading the plants along the fence, and they are suffering because of it, consider moving them to a new bed and replacing them with plants that like the shade. This tree is the beautiful centerpiece of your garden, it’d be a tragedy to remove or damage it if your only goal is to get more light.
PLEASE DONT KILL THE TREE
pruning is a good idea. trees are such a vital part of the ecosystem. They trap carbon, and they help prevent erosion. They also put nutrients back into the soil, which will stop when it dies.
I guess it’s not in the uk because you need permission from the local council before you can do any work on trees that big I would leave as it is and get somebody to keep your roof clean
I don’t understand. You see no good option in either pruning or cutting down this tree? The canopy is already a good height off the ground. How much higher do you want to go?
You have a huge yard. The tree doesn’t cramp your space. There are so many options with leaving the tree as is.
You could build a deck, add a swing, and seating with fireplace/barbeque area under it. Even with doing all that, you would still have plenty of green space left.
To top it off, to cut down this beautiful tree and add 2 8 ft ish trees in it’s place would really be sad. You would effectively be starting from scratch, but why??
This tree is a nice mature tree and the centerpiece of the yard. You can’t just make it a bunch smaller by pruning it. That would butcher the shape and might kill it anyway. Chopping it down would be silly. Why would you want to get rid of the best and most valuable part of your back yard? One that would take half a century or more to become so nice and big again?
Honestly I think the solution you’re looking for is, instead of having your garden smooshed up against the fence where tree branches can touch it, move *your garden* to a nice, stone or brick lined, aesthetically pleasing garden bed *in the sunny, tree-free middle* of the back yard. Make a stone path to it. Maybe even add a bird bath or a little fountain. Abandon the idea that the back yard needs to be a sea of green grass for “kids to run around in” or whatever, or just because that’s what you’ve always seen as “normal.”
Plant a glorious garden. Leave the glorious tree.
I dont even see much to prune. Unless the roots somehow affect the plumbing of the home or something, I’d leave it. What a gorgeous tree. Maybe you could landscape the area around the base of the tree?
Leave it alone. It’s beautiful.
I’m not familiar with the root system on this species. I love a big, old tree. That being said, my last home had a very large sycamore, and a huge root messed up my foundation. Very costly.
It’s beautiful and seems to be away from key structures. Keep !
OP, Forester here, I literally see no reason to fell or prune that tree.
Straight up there is a crown to stem ratio that determines the likelihood of blowdowns. I won’t bore you with the physics of it, but print (or do this in ms paint) out your tree picture and then draw how you want it to look over it.
If it ever vaguely resembles a lolly pop, DO NOT do that, you will be doing something dumb (increasing your chances of blowdowns).
If it shortens the height of the tree, DO NOT do that, that is called topping and the tree will never recover, becoming a significant and expensive hazard as time goes on.
If it will create more than a square foot of exposed wood from pruning damage (yes, pruning is intentionally causing damage), DO NOT do that, as few mature trees can successfully recover from that. Trees are not like people, their metabolism INCREASES as they age. Every year they have more square feet of living tissue to support, more cubic feet of dead tissue to support and keep pests and disease out of, and require more light/water/nutrients than the last. A tree spends its life always starving for something. “Small” amounts of damage can easily put a mature tree in a bad spot, and it becomes more likely the older the tree is.
It doesn’t look like it needs pruning, however, it’s best to call an arborist to take a look.
Prune
Not completely sure but I think I remember reading that this type of coniferous tree doesn’t prune well?
That’s an absolutely beautiful tree I’d hate to lose. It’s true that conifers of this type won’t backbud, but you can generally prune back some of the length from the tips while still leaving a large enough cluster of active needles (if you have a lever problem or fear branches snapping in weather conditions). Check with more knowledgeable arborists in your region.
I wouldn’t touch the tree at all, it looks great. But if
You do prune get a professional arborist to do it, not a random tree service that will just butcher the thing I’ve learned that many don’t actually know anything about trees based on how they’ll annihilate a tree’s crown or cut a conifer all wrong. You are correct though if you cut a branch back it will not grow new needles, basically with conifers you can usually only cut back fresh growth from that year without damaging the branch. This is because they don’t have latent buds and only grow from the end of the ends or actively growing branches. If you remove those active buds they tree has no way of making new ones. If you sheer new growth it can keep going as long as you don’t cut into old growth. This only works if you’re say maintaining the plant as a hedge or keeping a dwarf variety a dwarf. In your case all you could do is keep it from getting larger or straight up remove branches. Conifers typically don’t require pruning because, as in your case, they grow in nice, stable, evenly spaced branches. You can remove branches if you’re shaping but it honestly looks like a really good shape to begin with. I do see some smaller dead branches that I suppose you could have someone remove but that’s about all I’d do for pruning.
At the end of the day if you’re unhappy with the size you’re probably going to have to take it down, which again, I wouldn’t, but it’s not my house or my tree.
what’s wrong with leaving it alone?
That’s a great tree. I don’t understand why you need to do anything to it
Arborist. Call one.
If it was mine, I would keep it as-is. It has a good look to it, like a very large bonsai
Looks like a great tree to have in that spot and in pretty good shape, unless you have obvious issues up close.
Regularly maintenance pruning should normally keep it in good shape for your family to enjoy.
Before you think about chopping it down please check with some independent certified arborists.
Prune
Personally I would never cut down a healthy tree. Prune and reshape it.
With all that useless, water sucking grass why not put your garden away from your beautiful tree? You have plenty of land and it would be an absolute shame to cut this tree. I hope all these comments have inspired you to call a proper arborist for tree care and to be realistic about the healthy tree that appears to be the only one in your yard (all the more reason to value it)
I love the shape and would not touch it
I would never cut down a healthy tree of it could be avoided.
Loblolly pine leave it alone!
Leave that thing alone. Looks great!!
Such a beautiful tree. I will be so happy …and proud to have such an amazing specimen on my yard.
DONT YOU DARE CHOP THAT TREE DOWN
Check out the rules in your town hopefully you’re not allowed to kill trees if they’re not harming you.
From my perspective, that tree is the only thing in your yard that doesn’t need trimming. Cutting it down would be spending a bunch of money to make your yard worse.
Your shrubs are a little out of control and should handle pruning just fine. You can do that yourself right now if you want, but I prefer to do heavy pruning in late fall/early winter.
If that were my yard, the first thing I would do would be to tackle that pile of trash on the right, fix up the area around the back door and clean off the roof. You could add a lot of ‘curb appeal’ to your back yard with an afternoon of applied elbow grease.
Prune. Chopping it down would be a waste.
Keep the majestic tree, and think of all it’s seen over many years. Prune as needed, but let it live on 👌
Beautiful tree. I’d keep it for the shade it provides especially as our summers continue to get hotter and hotter.
The tree gods have blessed you with this tree! Honor her and leave her alone.