The Eucalyptus in our side yard was scheduled to be taken down today. As described in an earlier post, a neighbor contacted us in December about removing the tree. She complained that it blocked her view. She referred me to a local ordinance governing "view conservation," which outlines adjudication of such issues. After consultation with an arborist and a lot of angst, we agreed to go ahead and take the tree down. Since the decision was made, I've ignored that section of the yard. I don't know exactly how the tree's removal will affect the sun exposure of the surrounding beds or what kind of collateral damage to expect. But mostly, I just feel horribly guilty about taking out the tree before its time - even if the arborist did tell me that the fungal growth he saw at the base represents a "death sentence" in the long run and the tree sits ominously close to the house.
I was up early this morning to take pictures of the tree. As it is raining, my pictures didn't come out well but the photo below gives you an idea of the tree's size.
However, as this morning's rain is expected to continue, possibly for a couple of days, the tree service notified me that the crew can't work today. Removal is currently rescheduled for February 6th - assuming it doesn't rain again. So, when the rain stops, the sun will shine on the tree for couple more weeks.
I'm very sad for your beautiful eucalyptus! I was thinking of planting one this year as they are a favourite of mine. A smaller tree with some nice blue color could be an acacia baileyana or an olive tree. But the height is what makes it work with the other tree beside it - arbutus marina? Are you going to leave the stump or have it dug out?
ReplyDeleteEucalyptus get huge. Mine's probably 60 feet tall and the arborist said it's still not full grown. It's a messy tree but stately with interesting (although constantly shedding) bark - I probably wouldn't remove it now (even with the fungal disease underway) except for the neighbor's plea. The smaller tree to the left of the Eucalyptus in the 1st picture is a Magnolia. The trees on the right in the foreground are California peppers but there are 2 Arbutus behind them. The arborist told me that the Arbutus should get bigger when the Eucalyptus no longer shades them. Even without the Eucalyptus at least I'll have no shortage of trees.
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