Isn't this a beautiful tree?

[Live and Learn]

My neighbor is going to cut it down. I am heartbroken. And so will the many squirrels that live in it be.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

1. Sorry about the squirrels, but no.

I'd think about cutting it down too. It looks sick. But maybe plant something nice as a replacement.

[Live and Learn]

2. Thanks for your reply. It makes the trees soon to be demise a bit

more palatable to me. I admit that I am not a tree expert but the tree doesn't look any different to me that it has for the last 17 years that I have lived here. Do you mind telling me how you can tell it is sick?

For some strange reason, I am very sentimental about trees. Guess I am one of those tree hugging liberals.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

3. Well, I'm not an arborist,

but I was a landscaper for 15 or so years. Judging from the picture some limbs are dead and the overall foliage is this thin. Here is Southern Ontario (CAN) we're dealing with an epidemic of emerald ash borer deaths, and also Maple tree deaths. They all go the same the way, they can linger for years, but they are sick, and just infecting healthy trees.

[Live and Learn]

4. Thank you. On the plus side, my side of the yard will get a lot more light. nt

[shanti]

10. that's not always a good thing!

my side neighbor had a 40 ft chinese mulberry tree that gave me a good amount of shade from the late afternoon sun in the summer. someone across the street cut their large tree down, and i think he got a hair up his butt to do the same, so down it came. it was perfectly healthy for a deciduous tree. he just left the yard like that, no lawn or anything. it looks like hell.

now, it's unbearably hot in my side yard, and also heats up the house a LOT.

[magical thyme]

5. agreed, for all the same reasons

I'm not an arborist, but all those naked branches are not a good sign. Neighbor wants to cut it down before it falls down and not only kills the squirrels, but squashes everything in its path.

[LiberalElite]

6. I hate to see trees cut down too

- but sometimes it's done for a good reason - unlike this gem: One perfectly healthy tree in my neighborhood was removed from a front lawn which was then covered with concrete - voila! permanent parking space.

[shenmue]

7. Maybe the skwirls could live with u

[Fla Dem]

8. Lots of dead foliage in that picture. See some dead palm fronds on the left too.

Not only is all that dead, dry foliage a fire hazard, but it attracts lots more critters than just squirrels, think snakes and rats.

Generally I'm with you, I hate seeing majestic, old trees cut for the heck of it, or for convenience, but this one does look like it's reached it's end. Sorry it has to go.

[Live and Learn]

9. I have been a bit worried about the palm fronds.

They have 3 huge palm trees and the fronds are never removed. It seems like a huge fire hazard.

Maybe they will get them trimmed at the same tome.

[Skittles]

11. yes, I can see the beauty

[GP6971]

13. I have a 100 year old

apple tree just off my property (by about a foot). It's been through its rough times, but the city (9,000 people) has been really good about pruning it plus I prune the lower branches. The tree has thrived with all the indirect care its received over the last 15 years.....water, lawn fertilizer, compost etc.

[bigwillq]

14. It's ok.

I would cut it down. We cut a lot of our bigger trees after we got hit by a hurricane two years in a row.

[hamsterjill]

15. Like you, I see life.

I'm sorry that the tree will be cut down. Wish the neighbor had taken the time to consult with an expert to see if there was something that could be done for the obviously less than healthy tree.

I have a tree in my front yard (a red oak) that was not flourishing. A friend cut off the old, dead limbs about three years ago. My tree is (knocking on wood) growing again. I'm attached to it, and want it to be healthy!