Cutting holly tree trunk

[Mrxman]

We have a holly tree in our back garden which has two trunks. One of the trunks is right up against our new fence with only a few milimeters gap. While it doesn't actually lean on the fence I am concerned a storm could cause some damage so I am observing the situation.

Question: Will it destabilise the tree if I cut one trunk down and leave the other one?

Would be a shame to cut the whole tree down

Many thanks

 

[Mike13]

It is hard to kill a holly, go for it. You may need to trim some of the branches on the remaining trunk to keep the centre of gravity above the base, but it will soon bounce back.

 

[lostinthelight]

Post a picture of the tree

 

[Mrxman]

I've attached two pictures below.

Thanks

 

[robinbanks]

Why not leave it until it's actually a problem i.e. do something about it when it proves itself capable of ruining a £30 fence panel?

That way you get the benefit of a nice tree that may never ruin your fence, and if it does it's a paltry sum to repair the fence compared to the cost of removing the tree (and it's sensible to defer paying this until it's needed, if ever)

 

[Mrxman]

Why not leave it until it's actually a problem i.e. do something about it when it proves itself capable of ruining a £30 fence panel?

That way you get the benefit of a nice tree that may never ruin your fence, and if it does it's a paltry sum to repair the fence compared to the cost of removing the tree (and it's sensible to defer paying this until it's needed, if ever)

Yes there's some sense in what you're saying. Maybe it's too early to worry about something that hasn't yet become a problem.
Was thinking, given there's a brick wall end of garden I may actually be able to tie the tree trunk down with some cable if it should become a problem.

 

[StephenStephen]

If it was mine, I'd do it as soon as I'm sure there are no birds nesting in it - the longer you leave it, the further the other trunk will lean out. It'll also only get more difficult to do the longer you leave it.

 

[StephenOak]

Why not leave it until it's actually a problem

By then it may be too late. At the moment there is, or seems to be, some space between the trunk and the fence. So currently it should be straightforward to take off the top of the trunk (above the fence) and then take off the rest of the trunk in sections.

That way you get the benefit of a nice tree

I thought we were talking about a holly. They are essentially weeds, albeit they grow into big ones.

If it were mine I would take off the front trunk, maybe 3' above the ground to create access and then remove the rear one as much as possible.

As others have said, holly will grow back, so the growth from the rear one can be cut off and growth on the front one can be managed to keep it looking more like a bush. The latter is what I have done the (many) hollies in my garden and they look much better than they did as trees.

compared to the cost of removing the tree

You are the only one to mention removing it. But that is not that hard or expensive. Cut it down to ground level, then apply stump killer.

 

[Mrxman]

Luckily no birds nesting and I've consistently cut the height to a manageable level so in theory not a monumental task. I like the idea of cutting it down looking like a bush.
It really is quite extradinary how much work there is maintaining a house.

 

[Mrxman]

Thanks for the input btw

 

[lostinthelight]

Does it ever have berries, there are male and female trees and only the latter fruit

 

[Mrxman]

Does it ever have berries, there are male and female trees and only the latter fruit

No berries

 

[StephenOak]

I like the idea of cutting it down looking like a bush.

Just FYI, Someone asked how long it takes to for a stump to look like a bush and other than it being some years I didn't really know. So when I worked on one area I decided to keep track of the changes.

A lot of cutting was done in early 2020, the first photo gives an idea of the size of the trees and the second one is the tree in question


In July of that year it had started sprouting


And by March 2021 it looked like this (sorry it is a bit hard to see as there was greenery behind it)


That person visited in December 2023 at which stage it looked like this


I have done nothing to shape that at all, it is not in the way and I have plenty of other jobs to do in the garden!

 

[robinbanks]

So if you cut low or remove the limb (which is fairly sprout-free at the moment) next to the fence, expect it to quickly turn into a bush that will push on the fence more and also do a good job of stopping the fence panel drying out, which would accelerate the speed at which it decays!

 

[StephenOak]

expect it to quickly turn into a bush that will push on the fence more

This is true and is why I said

holly will grow back, so the growth from the rear one can be cut off and growth on the front one can be managed

When cutting off growth from the rear one you need to keep at it. But it will be at ground level and thin so can be taken off with a pair of secateurs.