Should I take down this tree leaning against my house?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ok, Leaning might be too strong a word, the house is not supporting the tree.

We had a thunderstorm last night - we’re fine, no trees down in our neighborhood, but the neighborhoods on either side of us had a lot of downed trees. Luckily nobody’s house or car got smooshed.

As usually happens when it rains, the leaves get wet, and get heavier, and the branches droop farther than usual. I noticed some of them are drooping into the area where our back deck is, so after the storm cleared I went out with some loppers to trim the branches that were apparently hoping to join us for the next cookout.

That went fine, but I noticed that one of the trees in the backyard (a bradford pear) was leaned up against our house. Not being supported by the house, but up against it. It is not usually like that, so I assume some combination of wind and rain caused it to come in contact with the house.

My first thought was to get it trimmed back - I don’t really need more crap in my gutters and I sure don’t want the tree messing up the roof. Then I thought that, given the height of the tree (all the bradford pears in my backyard are ~3 stories tall) I’m going to need to call a tree service anyway, and given all the trees that went down in the neighborhood next to mine, maybe it would be prudent to just have the whole tree taken out.

On the other hand, I rather like having the shade and the arboreal view for my backyard (as small as a 1/6 acre plot backyard is). So maybe it would be better to have there anyway.

On the gripping hand, If that tree and a few others came out, I would have room for a real garden and could start growing some vegetables like my neighbor does. Although I realize that may be pie in the sky for me to have time to tend a garden rather than have a garden that feeds the rabbits in our neighborhood.

Either way, we back up to a wooded area with a creek, so no development is happening and you can’t see the next neighborhood over unless it’s winter and you’re really looking, so it’s not a privacy concern to have the trees.

If we do decide to take them out we’d need permits from the city, but I imagine the tree service would handle those.

So, what would you do?

2

If it was a younger, smaller tree then staking it might enjoy some expectation of making it stable again. But with an older tree like that I think it’s only a matter of time, until the next heavy rain with wind perhaps, until it falls over.

Post pictures if you like and we can make a more qualified judgement, but in the absence of that I’d say take it out before it damages your home.

3

If a storm put the tree against your house, the next storm may cause it to do damage to your house. We had a neighbor who had a similar situation, and left it. The next storm found them having to try to extricate a branch from a wall while rain poured in from a deshingled roof. If, however, in your opinion, all danger can be mitigated by a serious pruning, then that’s the better deal.

4

lieu: That’s pretty much my concern. I’m at work now, I will post pictures if I get a chance today, but I make no promises.

Prof. Pepperwinkle: I’m leaning between “take out the tree” and “trim it” - why do you say pruning would be the better deal?

5

Sorry, I’m not a gardener. To me prune and trim are pretty much the same thing. If you feel all problems could be solved by a trim, then that’s your better alternative.

6

It’s actually touching the house? That’s not good. I’m a tree-lover, but in this case it probably needs to go. You could talk to the tree service, see what they think. I would be concerned.

7

I’m not either. I mean why do you think pruning/trimming would be better than taking out the whole tree?

8

If you really want the shade it provides, then trimming it leaves the shade while reducing the risk. Otherwise, take it on out.

9

Bradford pears are notoriously weak trees, which often snap off in a storm (they’re grafted, and the junction between the rootstock and the graft is not strong). They also tend to be short-lived. Take it down and replace it with a better landscaping tree.

10

Any suggestions on a replacement, artemis? I live near Atlanta, which for some reason is not showing up when I post.

11

Well, you want something that’s not going to get too large for the site, looks good, and is hardy. Some ideas that pop into my mind include a Franklinia, a small to midsized magnolia like a saucer magnolia or star magnolia, a crabapple, or a Japanese maple. I’m not familiar with everything that’s available and suitable for the Atlanta area, unfortunately, but there should be some arboretum or public gardens where knowledgeable growers can give you more suggestions.

12

What artemis said. Many communities are preemptively taking down Bradford pears. Hereis an article that suggests a replacement.

13

Don’t dogwoods do well in Georgia? They’re beautiful in the spring and might be a nice replacemnt. They don’t do well here or I’d have several myself (tried but they weren’t happy).

14

I voted take the tree out. It’s possible, I suppose, it could be saved, but unless you find someone who knows for certain, safest to remove it.

So did the ground saturate with water, and the whole mass of roots shift? Or is the trunk cracked or bending? I second that we really need pics.

15

As far as I can tell, the roots aren’t coming up and tree hasn’t cracked, but an updated from my wife (who is working from home) says the tree is still leaning against the house. I’ll post pictures later today assuming there’s enough light.

As far as Dogwoods, I do love those tree, and the flower are gorgeous. There’s already one on the other side of the yard but bracketing the yard with dogwoods might be nice. Of course, I do like cherry trees also…

16

I may be prejudiced by factors that apply in my area and not yours (around here, a tree near a house means you’re asking to have your house burned down when sparks from one of the many nearby wildfires land on it), but I say take the tree out and plant one farther away from the house if you want shade.

17

I’ll second all of this. As soon as I saw the words “bradford pear” in the OP, that was the ballgame AFAIWC. They’re very pretty trees, but we always used to see broken Bradfords all over the neighborhood after big storms, until people wised up and stopped planting them anymore.

I’m personally a fan of tulip poplars. Don’t know how well they do where the OP lives, though.

18

As a resident of Atlanta, aren’t you obligated to have at least one peach tree (either flowering or of the fruiting variety) on your property? :wink:

19

It takes a long time for a tree to reach decent size, so I’m always inclined to look for ways to avoid removal, but a tree touching your house or tilted in such a way that it is poised to fall on it in the next big storm is unacceptable and will almost certainly result in expensive damage at some point. If the tree is leaning towards your house, it doesn’t sound like trimming it will do, though you may be able to stake it and pull it away.

20

No, there aren’t very many peach trees in Atlanta. They need full sun, and there aren’t very many yards around here that aren’t covered in trees.