JontreeHI
Branched out member
- Location
- West Michigan lakeshore
Here's an interesting case I would love to get some opinions on.
The tree in question is (was) a beautiful monkey pod (Albizia saman, I beleive), obviously on the property belonging to my in-laws. For those without tropical experience, monkey pods are known for their sprawling, umbrella canopies comprised of several huge leads. Lots of fun to climb (see treesandsurf's hitch hiker video for a good example).
Maybe ten years ago, the neighbor to the rear of the property hired some ninjas to come in while in laws were on vacation and remove a significant percentage of the canopy, and also put in a wall, severing probably about 30 percent of the root crown. Then, about 7 years ago, my in laws hired some hacks to come in and "prune for health." Long story short, they removed several large leads, several of which were of 12-15 inch diameter, including stubbing off a major lead (final cut roughly 8 in diam.) which hangs over another, adjacent property.
Time lapse: monkey pods drop leaves every year and typically flush back again within 1-2 months. Two seasons ago, our tree went a full year with no green. We thought it was dead, laid some mulch and started hand watering. Since, we have seen spotty growth throughout the canopy, some sections appearing to have been completely rejuvenated, others leafless with significant die-back, and still others which are still leafless, but the wood is green. Close inspections reveals bumpy callouses at the nodes, and lots of ant frass. After discussing with a couple other arbs who have dealt with similar signs, it appears there are two fungi culprits whose names I can't think of right. Apparently systemic is the answer, and we are working towards that soon.
Enough background, here's the meat:
Before injection, my ground guy and I have been working to clear all the deadwood, including the massive stubbed-off lead (which sprouted years ago, but died back-the sprout/die back pattern has continued closer to the main stem every year, so my thought was to remove it entirely.)
This entire lead forks off from the main stem exactly at the property line. All of the logs, some 300-400 pounders, were swung onto our side and never touched down on the adjacent property. This has been our "slow week project" and we are about half way done with his lead.
Today, the neighbor, who had been on vacation in Alaska ( and is a maritime lawyer and a$$hole) came to the fence livid and essentially accused me of trespassing. He claims that he loves that branch, took offense to my calling it a "stub," and demands that all cutting be stopped immediately. Further, he states that although it is undoubtedly our tree, property boundaries extend straight up from the center of the earth, so that branch and anything else above his property belong to him.
So what do you think buzzers? Boundary law or tree ownership? I am a trespasser or a tree owner(well, my in laws) doing what I damn well please in our tree, for our tree?
I'd appreciate some perspective!
Jon
The tree in question is (was) a beautiful monkey pod (Albizia saman, I beleive), obviously on the property belonging to my in-laws. For those without tropical experience, monkey pods are known for their sprawling, umbrella canopies comprised of several huge leads. Lots of fun to climb (see treesandsurf's hitch hiker video for a good example).
Maybe ten years ago, the neighbor to the rear of the property hired some ninjas to come in while in laws were on vacation and remove a significant percentage of the canopy, and also put in a wall, severing probably about 30 percent of the root crown. Then, about 7 years ago, my in laws hired some hacks to come in and "prune for health." Long story short, they removed several large leads, several of which were of 12-15 inch diameter, including stubbing off a major lead (final cut roughly 8 in diam.) which hangs over another, adjacent property.
Time lapse: monkey pods drop leaves every year and typically flush back again within 1-2 months. Two seasons ago, our tree went a full year with no green. We thought it was dead, laid some mulch and started hand watering. Since, we have seen spotty growth throughout the canopy, some sections appearing to have been completely rejuvenated, others leafless with significant die-back, and still others which are still leafless, but the wood is green. Close inspections reveals bumpy callouses at the nodes, and lots of ant frass. After discussing with a couple other arbs who have dealt with similar signs, it appears there are two fungi culprits whose names I can't think of right. Apparently systemic is the answer, and we are working towards that soon.
Enough background, here's the meat:
Before injection, my ground guy and I have been working to clear all the deadwood, including the massive stubbed-off lead (which sprouted years ago, but died back-the sprout/die back pattern has continued closer to the main stem every year, so my thought was to remove it entirely.)
This entire lead forks off from the main stem exactly at the property line. All of the logs, some 300-400 pounders, were swung onto our side and never touched down on the adjacent property. This has been our "slow week project" and we are about half way done with his lead.
Today, the neighbor, who had been on vacation in Alaska ( and is a maritime lawyer and a$$hole) came to the fence livid and essentially accused me of trespassing. He claims that he loves that branch, took offense to my calling it a "stub," and demands that all cutting be stopped immediately. Further, he states that although it is undoubtedly our tree, property boundaries extend straight up from the center of the earth, so that branch and anything else above his property belong to him.
So what do you think buzzers? Boundary law or tree ownership? I am a trespasser or a tree owner(well, my in laws) doing what I damn well please in our tree, for our tree?
I'd appreciate some perspective!
Jon
