Killing off a Lime tree

[dollydoo]

I have a rather large lime tree (tilia cordata) its so huge its imposing as well as an eyesore and the sticky stuff prevents me from sitting in my own garden! its protected and the council won't let me reduce its size or have it pollarded. I've recently had my appeal to prescotts office turned down and I cannot afford to pursue it to the high court. My only option sadly is to kill it. So, does anyone know of any genuine "untraceable" solutions as to how it can be killed off?

[alan30]

You have to decide whether you want the risk of a �20000 fine against trusting you have found an 'untraceable' solution. Whether you like it or not you have been through the system and lost - to date. I would have thought that �20K would more than cover the cost of taking it further. Having gone through the system you have alerted the authorities to your views on the tree. If, I assume a healthy tree, suddenly gives up the ghost the council will look for a reason why. Having advised councils in similar situations I doubt whether the 'untraceable' method will stand up to much scrutiny. The following prosecution can be expensive plus the fine plus the replacement tree; you have no defence in not knowing the tree was protected. Bear in mind that the replacement tree will be an appropriate species and size and in or near the same place. Specialist companies can transplant very large trees and it will cost you an arm and a leg. The end result is that you will probably end up with the same species in the same place at a very large size and have paid out thousands of pounds.

[noxlumos]

Just live with it, how can a tree be an eyesore? If you don't like it that much sell your house and move to a desert and leave it for someone who'll appreciate it.We used to have on in the garden of our house in London, ok the goo isn't that convenient but I'd never have dreamed of killing it, that's a terrible thing to do and clearly the courts think so too.

[qapmoc]

The only method which might work is to take about 10Kg of plutonium isotope in small packets and strap it around the base of the tree for a couple of days, the tree will die and while the radiation levels will be a bit uncomfortable for a couple of thousand years I doubt if anybody would actually think of testing the dead tree for radiation damage.

[netibiza]

Put your washing machine drain tube by the tree (you'll have to extend it) and eventually the detergent will kill it off (I did this completely by mistake to a lemon tree as I had to let the water off into the garden.)

[gammaray]

Dig down to the roots and drive a one or two copper spikes into the bigger roots. The tree will die over time. I know this works because I did the same thing to weaken a tree stump in my back garden that resisted all attemts to dig it up.

[sandbach99]

Drill a thin hole in the trunk near the soil level, ensure you remove all the shavings. Place some thin copper wire in the hole and seal with mud. When the sap starts rising anytime now the copper will start to kill the tree.

However as you have alerted the authorities be careful, and watch that the neighbours don't see what you are doing. The copper may take a while ie. years to be very effective but it will work. The authorities may have someway of testing a dying tree.

[ronnie963]

dollydoo i know just how you feel i have a blossom tree in my garden and although its very pretty it does make a mess

[lady_p_gold]

May one ask, if you bought the house with the tree in, why you did so ? The protection of trees is to ensure that people don't just hack down trees whenever they feel like it and so that they can be there for the enjoyment of others and for the environmental benefits for others long after we have gone. Will you object if your neighbours now ignore planning laws and put up some hideous monstrosity blocking out all your privacy and light, or if a large company build a factory next to you etc. etc? The laws are not there just to be awkward they are there for a reason and I am a little shocked at the advice given, as if in some way this area of the law is ok just to ignore - which I am sure would not be the case if you had asked for ways to flytip your rubbish in the countryside or to destroy a badger sett. You will be breaking the law and I do know that they test trees in lots of ways to find out what has happened to them, and it would be pretty obvious that you were the culprit. If you had a local authority search then it would have shown that your tree was protected either by a tree preservation order or that you were in a Conservation area, and so you knew what you were getting, unless of course it is a Council property. It may be annoying but if everyone took the law into their own hands in this way, can you imagine the chaos and destruction that would ensue as developers hacked down beautiful oak trees to make way for their housing schemes ????

[alan30]

Some of the above answers are missing the point of the legislation. I assume the tree is covered by a TPO or within a Conserevations Area; the following applies to both

10.1 Anyone who, in contravention of a TPO:
(1) cuts down, uproots or wilfully destroys a tree, or
(2) tops, lops or wilfully damages a tree in a way that is likely to destroy it is guilty of an offence.119
Anyone found guilty of this offence is liable, if convicted in the Magistrates� Court, to a fine of up to �20,000. In serious cases a person may be committed for trial in the Crown Court and, if convicted, is liable to an unlimited fine.

Copper wire, herbicide, washing machine drain will all fall under 'wilful' and, given your application and appeal refusals, may be cosnsidered sufficiently serious to be taken to Crown Court. Wood and soil can be analysed for contamination including metals and herbicides and the costs of those analyses are likely to be added if found guilty. Council tree officers are not stupid; as I have said in previous reply if your tree dies now they will want to find out why.

[gammaray]

Who will tell them the tree is dead? not dollydoo I'm sure. I can't imagine for a second that the council will come around and inspect the tree so I'd say dolly you were free to do what ever you liked to it. This scare mongering with �20,000 fines is all rubbish. They'd never get the case to court because they'd never be able to prove who actually killed the tree!

I'm sure alan30 believes that there are scores of tree protection police just waiting to pounce on you. There aren't. A developer tore down an entire wooded area near me which had a preservation order on it dating back to king Harold. He got a �1000 fine - and he ADMITTED IT. Deny you had anything to do with it and if they can be bothered, let them prove otherwise... believe me they have better things to do with their time!

[lady_p_gold]

I can assure you they do take it very seriously and do have officers who investigate such things ... funny how everyone seems to be caring about the enviroment until it is in their back yard. And how do you feel about that wood and that developer gammaray, do you think that is right ? This whole thread has made me quite depressed.

[dollydoo]

Thanks for all your replies. Yes the tree has a tpo, yes I knew that when I moved here, no I don't want to kill the tree but even though I have a report substantiating that it would be more beneficial for the trees longevity to have the tree pollarded, the council won't allow it. Some councils are deliberately destroying the lime as the sticky stuff on pavements can be a danger to the public - hows that for double standards! So i'd be quite happy to risk getting caught! Thanks again!!

[gammaray]

As far as the council is concerned It doesn't really matter what I thought then or now. The wooded area was OK but then so are the shops, the pup and the sports centre now occupying the site. That's progress!

[gammaray]

It's also interesting to note that despite the developers court appearence, and the councils assertions in the press that they take their "commitment to vigorously protecting the county's green areas very seriously", the planning permission to develop the site sailed through every stage unchallenged.

[livcon]

Trees can be beautiful and can be a massive pain when in the wrong areas. Some people think that a tree planted in the wrong area is more important than people!! we live in a conservation area and the neighbours have 2 50ft self setting sycamores right on the boundary in a small garden. As they have grown, 40% of the branches are now on our property they block out light,view and deposit sap and bird doppings on our car. They have devalued our house and caused us stress and illness. The council will allow us to do nothing. As one person said we can move at a cost of around �15000 stampduty, solicitors etc . Why should we?
We have thought about killing the trees but we are law abiding and look where that has got us!

[KW80]

Not sure if this is still looked at but as I read somewhere else while looking for the answer to a similar problem.
Ever heard of honey fungus?
Natural agent that causes trees to die.
Ask a knowledgeable fungus person to identify it in a wood or on a tree. Actual fungus bit is actually edible so is safe to pick.
Suspect that introduction to tree could be via small scratches around the tree. Could it simply be done by rubbing fungus growth on the bark?
If infection takes then council may remove tree at their cost.
Possible drawback is that the ground the tree is in may have residual infection. This would prevent anything else being planted at the same place or area. Did you want another tree in the same place?