"What is the true value of a tree?"

[BonjourBonsai]

Anyone have a subscription to the Financial Times (ft.com)? I saw this headline and would love to know what it says. I imagine it's got something to do with the cost of carbon capture and the social benefits of living near trees.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I did a Google search, and found this article.

Always fascinating, because no matter where I live, I always find there is some percentage of people (10-25%) who simply can't stand having trees on their property. They can buy a lot with mature timber in a wooded neighborhood, and their first move is to take all the trees down.

 

[ShadyStump]

I did a Google search, and found this article.

Always fascinating, because no matter where I live, I always find there is some percentage of people (10-25%) who simply can't stand having trees on their property. They can buy a lot with mature timber in a wooded neighborhood, and their first move is to take all the trees down.

One thing to consider here is the potential for property damage- falling limbs, roots in the foundation, etc- trees can pose. My ex was rather paranoid about these things, and hated the idea of trees anywhere within 50 feet of the house.

Planting the right tree in the right place to begin with mitigates these, but many developers and architects don't think like that. They chose species and placement based on the short term sales benefit.
Also, a gardener may want to eliminate the trees to get more sun to their beds. There are legitimate reasons for wanting some trees gone.
That said, some folks are just too lazy to rake leaves in the fall, or want to show off the house.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

That said, some folks are just too lazy to rake leaves in the fall, or want to show off the house.

Yeah, I'm not talking about people selectively removing a tree here or there. I'm talking about people who move into a wooded property, pay a premium for it... and then remove all the trees.

Funny story - we had a neighbor in California who hated trees. Super nice, friendly neighbor otherwise. Over the course of about five years we watched as tree after tree disappeared from their front and back yards. Finally one day I looked out and saw an arborist about to start cutting down a tree close to the fence line between our properties - a tree that, though clearly theirs, provided a lot of shade and privacy for our yard. I ran over and begged him not to cut down the tree... and he grudgingly agreed... while proceeding to remove every last tree still standing in his back yard. We lived that way for about a year, with only the single tree in his yard, while our yard was nicely landscaped. When we moved to NC and put our house on the market, he went out that weekend and had that last tree taken down, before we had even sold our house.

Fast forward three months, and our house was sold, and we flew back to CA to move out. Talking with our neighbor's wife, she said they had decided to sell their house as well. However the first thing the realtor said when she reviewed their property was "you can't sell your house with an empty back yard like this" so they were paying to have a nursery come in and plant a bunch of landscape trees

 

[ShadyStump]

Yeah, I'm not talking about people selectively removing a tree here or there. I'm talking about people who move into a wooded property, pay a premium for it... and then remove all the trees.

Funny story - we had a neighbor in California who hated trees. Super nice, friendly neighbor otherwise. Over the course of about five years we watched as tree after tree disappeared from their front and back yards. Finally one day I looked out and saw an arborist about to start cutting down a tree close to the fence line between our properties - a tree that, though clearly theirs, provided a lot of shade and privacy for our yard. I ran over and begged him not to cut down the tree... and he grudgingly agreed... while proceeding to remove every last tree still standing in his back yard. We lived that way for about a year, with only the single tree in his yard, while our yard was nicely landscaped. When we moved to NC and put our house on the market, he went out that weekend and had that last tree taken down, before we had even sold our house.

Fast forward three months, and our house was sold, and we flew back to CA to move out. Talking with our neighbor's wife, she said they had decided to sell their house as well. However the first thing the realtor said when she reviewed their property was "you can't sell your house with an empty back yard like this" so they were paying to have a nursery come in and plant a bunch of landscape trees

Yeah, I just don't understand that. I've seen it before and always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I just never understood it.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

I did a Google search, and found this article.

Always fascinating, because no matter where I live, I always find there is some percentage of people (10-25%) who simply can't stand having trees on their property. They can buy a lot with mature timber in a wooded neighborhood, and their first move is to take all the trees down.

I have a summer cottage . On a small lake 2 hours from Ottawa . Getting more popular area . My cottage like most is forest to the lake edge . Mine is difficult to see from lake .people purchased one down the lake . They cut down every tree in there property . So it’s a patch of grass .

 

[Crazy Diamond]

 

[SantaFeBonsai]

Love HOA’s that don’t allow you to cut healthy trees down.

 

[ShadyStump]

I have a summer cottage . On a small lake 2 hours from Ottawa . Getting more popular area . My cottage like most is forest to the lake edge . Mine is difficult to see from lake .people purchased one down the lake . They cut down every tree in there property . So it’s a patch of grass .

Why would you buy a secluded house on forested land by a lake and not want trees?
Must be in it for the bragging rights.

 

[ShadyStump]

Love HOA’s that don’t allow you to cut healthy trees down.

View attachment 423984

I generally hate HOAs because I'm the sort of guy they're usually meant to keep out
I'm ok with the ones that require a reasonable amount of landscaping, not just bare dirt in the front yard, or collect the fees just for area road and utilities maintenance. But if I want to cut down every tree in my yard so I can replace them with fruit trees or something else I'd prefer, stay out of my business.

My objections to people clear-cutting their own property is are principaled. If you don't like trees, don't get a house in the woods, dummy.
The irony is many of these people are the same ones who'll tell me I need to be recycling my tin cans to save the environment, and drive a Prius, but their deforestation of the neighborhood just expanded their own carbon footprint. They don't care about the environment; they care about other people thinking they care about the environment.

I guess I'll just have to collect enough bonsai to offset their hypocrisy.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

Why would you buy a secluded house on forested land by a lake and not want trees?
Must be in it for the bragging rights.

Pics are my cottage from the water . And from the back yard to the lake. .

 

[ShadyStump]

Pics are my cottage from the water . And from the back yard to the lake. .

Nice!
I could see one or two trees going away just for the view, wildfire mitigation, etc., but a view devoid of trees isn't much of a view.

 

[penumbra]

Most of our 8 acres are tree covered. We don't even remove dead trees unless they are near the house. We have a lot of owls and other creatures that depend on those trees. When the trees come down naturally we leave them to create habitat for lizards, snakes and mushrooms. I know we have a neighbor who thinks we are nuts and it must make him crazy, but after 30+ years here, he hasn't said a word about it. His yard has a lot of larger trees but there is not a stick or a leaf on his half assed pseudo lawn. And he has no young trees.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

My only conversation with the guy that cleared his lot . Went like this . I’m standing in the lake fishing . He stops by in his boat . . Asks me am I aware how much the eastern hemlock . ( off to the left out of pic o posted ) rocks and moves in winter storms . Actually said I should consider cutting it down before it falls and creates damage . Said you can see the snow move around the base . So it’s loose in the ground . This summer I’ll get pics to show you guys . I pointed to make sure we were discussing the same tree . . Granted the tree is near the waters edge . . Tree is 4 feet across the trunk very healthy estimate it’s about 60 feet high . I told him I like the tree I think I’ll let it stay there for the next several 100 years . He told me I should be worried . I said about what the tree looks happy and it was here first .

 

[sorce]

The problem with an HOA, like every other organized decision making group, is that as soon as the majority of people have an irrational fear, like that of falling trees, the rules change.

The true value of a tree is that God made them to serve us purposes and if we respect that, they are infinite.

A tree can warm, house and educate a child, the things that child can end up doing via that tree are priceless.

Sorce

 

[Bonsai Nut]

My only conversation with the guy that cleared his lot . Went like this . I’m standing in the lake fishing . He stops by in his boat . . Asks me am I aware how much the eastern hemlock . ( off to the left out of pic o posted ) rocks and moves in winter storms . Actually said I should consider cutting it down before it falls and creates damage . Said you can see the snow move around the base . So it’s loose in the ground . This summer I’ll get pics to show you guys . I pointed to make sure we were discussing the same tree . . Granted the tree is near the waters edge . . Tree is 4 feet across the trunk very healthy estimate it’s about 60 feet high . I told him I like the tree I think I’ll let it stay there for the next several 100 years . He told me I should be worried . I said about what the tree looks happy and it was here first .

I live on the largest lake in North Carolina with somewhere around 500 miles of shoreline. Surprisingly, it is a private lake - owned by Duke Power for the purpose of electricity generation (one reason why our electricity here costs 1/5 what it did in California). Duke owns the entire shoreline, and there is a 127 page document that details what you can or cannot do to the shore - even extending inland 50' (or more) depending where you are on the lake. Many allowable uses will still require permitting. Ignore the regulations at your peril - if you decide you are going to cut down mature trees on the shore without authorization (assuming you can find someone willing to do the work) you may end up having to replant, as well as losing shoreline permit rights for your dock for up to five years.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

70 years ago, when our house was built, planting a little red maple 10 feet from the window probably seemed like a good idea. Now, not so much.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

I live on the largest lake in North Carolina with somewhere around 500 miles of shoreline. Surprisingly, it is a private lake - owned by Duke Power for the purpose of electricity generation (one reason why our electricity here costs 1/5 what it did in California). Duke owns the entire shoreline, and there is a 127 page document that details what you can or cannot do to the shore - even extending inland 50' (or more) depending where you are on the lake. Many allowable uses will still require permitting. Ignore the regulations at your peril - if you decide you are going to cut down mature trees on the shore without authorization (assuming you can find someone willing to do the work) you may end up having to replant, as well as losing shoreline permit rights for your dock for up to five years.

How’s the fishing

 

[ShadyStump]

70 years ago, when our house was built, planting a little red maple 10 feet from the window probably seemed like a good idea. Now, not so much.View attachment 424097

The original owners of my ex's place did the same thing with honey locusts. Nice shady yard, and keeps the house cool in summer, but the foundation won't last long if it's left there.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

How’s the fishing

Good! Though I'm a wimp and don't go fishing when it's too cold