Hello to everyone, new here and would like to request some guidance from the
experts!

For the past few years we've had what we've seemed to identify as an Ash
growing from seed in our garden. Actually there are about three growing but
we've managed to keep the others under control by chopping them down early
enough. Every year we have cut it down because we've never known what it
is. Now we have let it grow - and boy does it grow quickly! - we are
wondering whether it was the right thing to do.

I am aware how large it grows and that it can last a couple of hundred
years, but my question is how large can it grow in ten years, and are the
roots invasive over this period of time (including the roots of the trees we
cut down)? It is growing around ten feet away from our house in - believe
it or not - a man-made rockery. Seems fine and healthy at the moment, but
we wouldn't want it to cause any structural damage to both ours and our
neighbour's house.

TIA
Kathy

blueyondercustomer wrote:
> Hello to everyone, new here and would like to request some guidance from the
> experts!
>
> For the past few years we've had what we've seemed to identify as an Ash
> growing from seed in our garden. Actually there are about three growing but
> we've managed to keep the others under control by chopping them down early
> enough. Every year we have cut it down because we've never known what it
> is. Now we have let it grow - and boy does it grow quickly! - we are
> wondering whether it was the right thing to do.
>
> I am aware how large it grows and that it can last a couple of hundred
> years, but my question is how large can it grow in ten years, and are the
> roots invasive over this period of time (including the roots of the trees we
> cut down)? It is growing around ten feet away from our house in - believe
> it or not - a man-made rockery. Seems fine and healthy at the moment, but
> we wouldn't want it to cause any structural damage to both ours and our
> neighbour's house.
>

Cutting the top back won't stop the roots growing at all. I'm surprised
it hasn't completely ruined your rockery! It's easy to get
unnecessarily worried about trees, especially with modern foundations,
but I think ten feet is far too close to the house for comfort: for
ash, I'd say the safe distance is probably at least thirty feet from
house or especially drains. At
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/trees.html
there's a table in which the safe distance is given as 21m -- over
sixty feet. This would normally be an exaggeration, but they say it's a
figure agreed by some insurers, so you may think it worth using as a
guide in case something nasty happens to your neighbour's property and
they or their insurers try to blame you. I'd remove the tree.

--
Mike.

On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 16:58:45 +0100, Mike Lyle wrote
(in article <1149609525.343356.65300 [at] u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>):

>
> blueyondercustomer wrote:
>> Hello to everyone, new here and would like to request some guidance from the
>> experts!
>>
>> For the past few years we've had what we've seemed to identify as an Ash
>> growing from seed in our garden. Actually there are about three growing but
>> we've managed to keep the others under control by chopping them down early
>> enough. Every year we have cut it down because we've never known what it
>> is. Now we have let it grow - and boy does it grow quickly! - we are
>> wondering whether it was the right thing to do.
<snip>
>
> Cutting the top back won't stop the roots growing at all. I'm surprised
> it hasn't completely ruined your rockery! It's easy to get
> unnecessarily worried about trees, especially with modern foundations,
> but I think ten feet is far too close to the house for comfort<snip>
.. I'd remove the tree.
>
>

I agree totally with this. I've had to do the same thing under similar
circumstances but my ash tree was growing on top of a lowish wall about ten
feet from my kitchen window. The roots were below the wall and heading
straight for the house. Unhappily, I think you have no choice.


--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site

"Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C0AB6BBB00216B32F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
> >
> > Cutting the top back won't stop the roots growing at all. I'm surprised
> > it hasn't completely ruined your rockery! It's easy to get
> > unnecessarily worried about trees, especially with modern foundations,
> > but I think ten feet is far too close to the house for comfort<snip>
> . I'd remove the tree.
> >
> >
>
> I agree totally with this. I've had to do the same thing under similar
> circumstances but my ash tree was growing on top of a lowish wall about
ten
> feet from my kitchen window. The roots were below the wall and heading
> straight for the house. Unhappily, I think you have no choice.
>

What, not working with nature then?

--
Mike W

Post removed (X-No-Archive: yes)

In article <31303030393032394485DAF389 [at] zetnet.co.uk>,
Janet Baraclough <janet.and.john [at] zetnet.co.uk> writes:
|> The message <1149609525.343356.65300 [at] u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>
|> from "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk [at] yahoo.co.uk> contains these words:
|>
|> > > years, but my question is how large can it grow in ten years,
|>
|> 30 to 40 ft tall, easily.
|>
|> and are the
|> > > roots invasive over this period of time
|>
|> Yes.. Cutting the top does nothing to limit the root growth, and ash
|> trees grow a very wide root spread.

As she says, though cutting the top every year does slow its root
growth. But even an annually coppiced ash in a rockery 10' from a
house is a pest.

Ashes are not rare, and should be planted only where there is space
for them. LOTS of it. They make first-class coppicing trees, for
producing firewood, poles etc. - but that is a commercial activity.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Janet Baraclough wrote:
> The message <1149609525.343356.65300 [at] u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>
> from "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk [at] yahoo.co.uk> contains these words:
>
> > > years, but my question is how large can it grow in ten years,

For the record, no it doesn't. That was the OP, not me.

--
Mike.

In article <1149626280.116328.224960 [at] f6g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
"Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk [at] yahoo.co.uk> writes:
|>
|> Janet Baraclough wrote:
|> > The message <1149609525.343356.65300 [at] u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>
|> > from "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk [at] yahoo.co.uk> contains these words:
|> >
|> > > > years, but my question is how large can it grow in ten years,
|>
|> For the record, no it doesn't. That was the OP, not me.

Well, it was THE question - it just wasn't YOUR question.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Tue, 6 Jun 2006 18:41:47 +0100, VisionSet wrote
(in article <v7jhg.4661$1Z2.2048 [at] newsfe7-win.ntli.net>):

>
> "Sacha Hubbard" <sacha [at] privacy.net> wrote in message
> news:0001HW.C0AB6BBB00216B32F0284550 [at] news.individual.net...
>>>
>>> Cutting the top back won't stop the roots growing at all. I'm surprised
>>> it hasn't completely ruined your rockery! It's easy to get
>>> unnecessarily worried about trees, especially with modern foundations,
>>> but I think ten feet is far too close to the house for comfort<snip>
>> . I'd remove the tree.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I agree totally with this. I've had to do the same thing under similar
>> circumstances but my ash tree was growing on top of a lowish wall about
> ten
>> feet from my kitchen window. The roots were below the wall and heading
>> straight for the house. Unhappily, I think you have no choice.
>>
>
> What, not working with nature then?
>

I confidently predicted that response. However, I did not plant the ash and
I did not build the house. And I didn't park a caravan near either.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site

Post removed (X-No-Archive: yes)

In message <e64no6$3mo$1 [at] gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk>, Nick Maclaren
<nmm1 [at] cus.cam.ac.uk> writes
>
>
>As she says, though cutting the top every year does slow its root
>growth. But even an annually coppiced ash in a rockery 10' from a
>house is a pest.
>
>Ashes are not rare, and should be planted only where there is space
>for them. LOTS of it. They make first-class coppicing trees, for
>producing firewood, poles etc. - but that is a commercial activity.
>

It was probably self-sown; they do seed freely.

I'm always reluctant to agree with anyone on Usenet, but ten feet from
your house is too close for an ash tree.

--
Sue ];(:)

On 7/6/06 16:53, in article LdcFozGdZvhEFwyO [at] mashtub.demon.co.uk, "MadCow"
<uce [at] ftc.gov> wrote:

> In message <e64no6$3mo$1 [at] gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk>, Nick Maclaren
> <nmm1 [at] cus.cam.ac.uk> writes
>>
>>
>> As she says, though cutting the top every year does slow its root
>> growth. But even an annually coppiced ash in a rockery 10' from a
>> house is a pest.
>>
>> Ashes are not rare, and should be planted only where there is space
>> for them. LOTS of it. They make first-class coppicing trees, for
>> producing firewood, poles etc. - but that is a commercial activity.
>>
>
> It was probably self-sown; they do seed freely.
>
> I'm always reluctant to agree with anyone on Usenet, but ten feet from
> your house is too close for an ash tree.

They're forest trees, big and beautiful and lethal to a house at that
closeness. Sometimes, I suppose, a developer might have left a tree to
survive when building new houses but I expect that you're right with regard
to some sowing themselves from seed. In the case of the one I had to fell,
it was almost certainly planted deliberately and had plenty of time to
establish itself as the house was Victorian and before it was built, that
particular area of Jersey was given over to cider apple trees. The man who
surveyed the house for me went quite pale when he saw that lovely ash.
Great, great shame.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(email address on website)