Crosswords1 min ago
Killing off a Lime tree
I have a rather large lime tree (tilia cordata) its so huge its imposing as well as an eyesore and the sticky stuff prevents me from sitting in my own garden! its protected and the council won't let me reduce its size or have it pollarded. I've recently had my appeal to prescotts office turned down and I cannot afford to pursue it to the high court. My only option sadly is to kill it. So, does anyone know of any genuine "untraceable" solutions as to how it can be killed off?
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by dollydoo. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Drill a thin hole in the trunk near the soil level, ensure you remove all the shavings. Place some thin copper wire in the hole and seal with mud. When the sap starts rising anytime now the copper will start to kill the tree.
However as you have alerted the authorities be careful, and watch that the neighbours don't see what you are doing. The copper may take a while ie. years to be very effective but it will work. The authorities may have someway of testing a dying tree.
Some of the above answers are missing the point of the legislation. I assume the tree is covered by a TPO or within a Conserevations Area; the following applies to both
10.1 Anyone who, in contravention of a TPO:
(1) cuts down, uproots or wilfully destroys a tree, or
(2) tops, lops or wilfully damages a tree in a way that is likely to destroy it is guilty of an offence.119
Anyone found guilty of this offence is liable, if convicted in the Magistrates� Court, to a fine of up to �20,000. In serious cases a person may be committed for trial in the Crown Court and, if convicted, is liable to an unlimited fine.
Copper wire, herbicide, washing machine drain will all fall under 'wilful' and, given your application and appeal refusals, may be cosnsidered sufficiently serious to be taken to Crown Court. Wood and soil can be analysed for contamination including metals and herbicides and the costs of those analyses are likely to be added if found guilty. Council tree officers are not stupid; as I have said in previous reply if your tree dies now they will want to find out why.
Who will tell them the tree is dead? not dollydoo I'm sure. I can't imagine for a second that the council will come around and inspect the tree so I'd say dolly you were free to do what ever you liked to it. This scare mongering with �20,000 fines is all rubbish. They'd never get the case to court because they'd never be able to prove who actually killed the tree!
I'm sure alan30 believes that there are scores of tree protection police just waiting to pounce on you. There aren't. A developer tore down an entire wooded area near me which had a preservation order on it dating back to king Harold. He got a �1000 fine - and he ADMITTED IT. Deny you had anything to do with it and if they can be bothered, let them prove otherwise... believe me they have better things to do with their time!
It's also interesting to note that despite the developers court appearence, and the councils assertions in the press that they take their "commitment to vigorously protecting the county's green areas very seriously", the planning permission to develop the site sailed through every stage unchallenged.
We have thought about killing the trees but we are law abiding and look where that has got us!
Ever heard of honey fungus?
Natural agent that causes trees to die.
Ask a knowledgeable fungus person to identify it in a wood or on a tree. Actual fungus bit is actually edible so is safe to pick.
Suspect that introduction to tree could be via small scratches around the tree. Could it simply be done by rubbing fungus growth on the bark?
If infection takes then council may remove tree at their cost.
Possible drawback is that the ground the tree is in may have residual infection. This would prevent anything else being planted at the same place or area. Did you want another tree in the same place?
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