A creative way to remove unwanted cottonwoods?

[wysiwyg]

My grandfather's yard is full of cottonwoods that he planted about 20 years ago. They've grown to about 40 feet and have become a real nuisence to him, and me. They shed branches everywhere, and a few have blown over (which I had to clean up). Others appear to be leaning and are planted in questionable soil. He's not in a financial position to have them professionally removed and seems contrite to just let them do whatever damage they may do if they blow over and just let insurance cover it.

I got an idea from 5 cottonwoods in his yard that died 4 or 5 years ago. I'm not sure why they died, but they have remained in place this entire time, and are slowly losing branches as they rot off. All of the bark has fallen off, but what is left is a strong skeleton. Last year one of the dead trees broke in half. The half that fell did little damage because it was so lightweight from being dead for so long. The bottom half I could easily manage removing myself. I cut up the live trees that blew over, and estimate that the dead tree weighed at least 75% less than the live ones, not even considering the weight of all the leaves a live cottonwood has.

So I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to kill the rest of the cottonwoods and just let them disinitigrate in place, as opposed to the alternative to letting them live and taking the "let the insurance handle it" approach? I'm thinking of girdling the bark, using the bark that has shed from the dead trees as a gage on how deep to cut.

While the dead trees could still hit the house if they break in half, it would do no where near the kind of damage done if a fully live, leafed out tree were to uproot in a storm. And the chances of the dying trees blowing over in a storm before they are fully dried out are greatly reduced if they don't have any leaves to catch the wind.

Does anyone see any big problems with this approach?

 

[Rookie1]

Wow thats an interesting idea. Not sure if its a good one though. Why cant you just cut them down or have someone else cut them down safely and then you cut up and haul away. Killing them sounds good to me I hate Cottonwood trees and all their white fluff that comes from them. But once they are dead you are gambling that the wind will blow them away from the house. Thats risky. Maybe you could find a treecutter that works in your area and have him cut one at a time when hes in the area doing another job to save money.

 

[SLlandscape]

I strongly recommend that you have someone take it down for you. Even if it's one tree at a time. I agree with Rookie1 That it's very risky to gamble that the wind will blow them away from the house.

Example: For the past the past 8 MONTHS I have been trying to get the home owner of one my mowing jobs to let me take down a cotton wood he has growing in his yard. Mainly because the tree has a very bad split going along the trunk from lighting, wind, or whatever. Every time I have mentioned the tree to him he gives me the same "we'll do it eventually" answer. Well guess what happened 2 weeks ago. During a bad storm and 65 mph gust winds the "hazard tree" blew over. All that remains is about a 12' trunk still in the ground. However, the rest of the trunk (I have know idea how) avoided the fence (3' away), gas meter (15' away), house (30' away), and tool shed (12' away), and an irrigation main valve box (25' away), (all of which are more than close enough to have been hit by the falling tree) and landed in another tree directly in front of its path when it fell. Now it's wedged itself into a perfeclty healthy tree which has several broken branches in it now as well. And yet, the home owner still refuses to let me or any one remove any of the tree. The lesson here, pay attention to what the pros advise you to have done or you will end up "biting the bullet" as they say.

Please, do not let the tree in question remain in its place unless you absolutely have to. In my case that tree easily could of hit his house in the middle of the night and killed him while sleeping in his bedroom which is right in the path of that tree if the wind been blowing a little bit more to the east.

 

[Ed Roland]

Does anyone see any big problems with this approach?

:agree2:

 

[Jovary]

That would be a huge liability. Does it really make a difference if it weighs that much less? The chance that the trees will fail and cause serious damage would be enough for me to do it right.

 

[wysiwyg]

Thanks for the replies. That's pretty much what I expected to hear, and just needed the confirmation that no one would actually do this. This is something that I've been trying to figure out for the last 5 or so years since the first tree uprooted during a storm. There are 10-15 trees that could theoretically hit the house, depending on which way the wind is blowing. What makes it more complicated is that the cottonwoods are all surrounded on three sides by other pines and spruces, making the only clear path to fell them directly pointed at the house. They would have to be limbed and bucked while the tree is standing, and that sounds very expensive.

The only other idea I've had is to hire someone to climb the trees, limb them, and take off the top half of the trunk. This would leave the bottom half of the trunk in place and I would take care of that at my own pace. Does this sound like a legitimate approach? Any ideas what this would cost for 15 40-foot trees, mostly with single, straight trunks?

 

[treemandan]

Go ahead kill the tree, when your ins co finds out... its not really a good idea but you are quite the thinking. Times are tough, just gettin tougher. call someone.

 

[TreeWizard]

That cottonwood bark is valuable. If you take down the trees strip off the bark and contact any woodcarvers in your area to see who wants the bark. A small piece of it 6" wide by 24" long goes for about $7 or more.

 

[ATS/TexasTree]

Before taking the tree down, go to this link....

http://www.ocala.com/article/20081112/ARTICLES/811120293


That's what happens to people who shouldn't do their own removals.

Don't kill the trees and then cut them down. The professional will charge a lot more to remove a tree already dead vs. a live tree. The live tree is safer to climb.

Let them fall and then collect insurance? Bad idea. If you know your trees are hazardous and fail to act in a timely manner, the insurance company can (and more and more does...) reject the claim. You have to reasonably maintain your property.

Trees can do terrific damage to houses. They never fall at an opportune time. The cost and head ache of repairs is huge minus your deductable.

Trees frequently kill people IN THEIR HOMES when they fall.

Let some professional with insurance (and experience) safely put the trees completely on the ground. The cost difference to remove the crown vs making the final cut to put the trunk on the ground is usually minimal.

Once the trees are safely on the ground, you can tackle the mess with the proper safety gear (chain saw chaps, eye, ear and breathing protection.)

Cottonwoods harbor a great many pathogens - best to wear a mask when cutting the wood up.

Carvers in the southwest use cottonwood exclusively because of its easy carving ability ( and because it may be the only tree around for miles.)

 

[md_tree_dood]

I agree on having someone remove them for you. That being said, gas and a match might work too.

 

[Kingsley]

wysiwyg

The only other idea I've had is to hire someone to climb the trees, limb them, and take off the top half of the trunk. This would leave the bottom half of the trunk in place and I would take care of that at my own pace. Does this sound like a legitimate approach? Any ideas what this would cost for 15 40-foot trees, mostly with single, straight trunks?

I like this idea of yours. I don't think they would have a problem with that. They could get in and out quick, plus no clean up!
Get a few quotes from different tree removal services, let them know you are contacting different companies and go with the bid most advantageous to you (may not be the cheapest).

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

That cottonwood bark is valuable. If you take down the trees strip off the bark and contact any woodcarvers in your area to see who wants the bark. A small piece of it 6" wide by 24" long goes for about $7 or more.

First I ever heard that. Heck, I've got a full cord of split Cottonwood sitting about 20 feet away from me as I type this. Am I sitting on a gold mine???

 

[pdqdl]

1. Nobody seems to have mentioned that one good roof repair would probably cost more than a good climber to eliminate the risk.

2. You can't pay me enough to let a dead branch fall on MY head, no matter how much lighter than it was when green. And dead trees drop branches all the time, not just occasionally. So you will loose the free and easy use of the yard untill they all fall down. That would be a heck of price to pay.

3. Your local government might declare the trees a public hazard, and force you to pay for their total removal, in addition to any fines that might be levied. That would really knock a hole in the saving money concept.

ATS/TexasTree:

I agree with pretty much everything you said. But where did this come from: "Cottonwoods harbor a great many pathogens - best to wear a mask when cutting the wood up. "

ALLERGENS maybe, but pathogens are disease causing organisms. Are you sure about that?