How often do you trim your trees? Neighbor complains all the time about our trees! (Phoenix: foreclosed, house)

[foma]

Please don't move my thread OP since I'm asking specifically about tree growing in Phoenix. And perhaps wisdom from my Phoenix neighbors who may know a thing or two about how to deal with the situation.

We have a couple of trees where the branches go out to our neighbors property. It's not touching his house but every year - like today for instance - he comes over to ask us to trim the tree b'c it's making noise and keeping him up. He does it passive aggressively might I add by saying, "Oh, we just forget that it's there." Then why the hell are you coming over complaining?!

I guess I should be happy that he's coming over less. It used to be a few times a year. Now it's one or two times.

My question is, how often do you trim your trees? At $100/tree, I'm not doing it more than once a year!

If anybody can share their similar experience I'd appreciate it. I really don't know how to handle this. I'm a laid back person that doesn't mind appeasing my neighbors but this is getting ridiculous. I don't need to be admonished for my yard maintenance.

I should complain about his dogs waking up m toddler every morning! But I don't b'c we're neighbors. We should all just live in peace together, right?!

Maybe I just need to hear from somebody other than my neighbor that I'm being unreasonable and it's not him. But I'm pretty sure it's him.

[Burning Madolf]

I trim my own, mostly the front ones to keep the canopy up. I would only trim the back once every 2 years.

When you say $100, are you paying an actual arborist or a landscaper who is shaping the tree? That could be the problem.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by foma

We have a couple of trees where the branches go out to our neighbors property.

I should complain about his dogs waking up m toddler every morning! But I don't b'c we're neighbors. We should all just live in peace together, right?!

My understanding is your neighbor has a legal right not to have a neighbors trees hanging over his property. On a personal note, unless it's a huge 12" or 24" branch dangling over my roof that could fall/harm our property, I wouldn't care at all and actually like the look of a few branches of a neighbors tree reaching over our property. Maybe you can clarify the size and how many branches are hanging over?

As for the neighbors dog waking up your toddler every morning with barking.....I think you have every right to explain the situation nicely to him how his dogs effect your family negatively and to ask him if he could tone down his dogs. Especially since he has no problem asking you to solve something that may be trivial, I wouldn't think twice about it. Perhaps he'd also think twice about coming over your place and asking about your trees next time if the branches hanging over are indeed trivial.

[foma]

Originally Posted by Burning Madolf

I trim my own, mostly the front ones to keep the canopy up. I would only trim the back once every 2 years.

When you say $100, are you paying an actual arborist or a landscaper who is shaping the tree? That could be the problem.

Yep, our landscaper does it. What do you mean by "That could be the problem"?

[observer53]

I don't see how this is a problem unique to Phoenix or even Arizona, unless there is some local ordinance that applies. I'll leave it here for now, but it may not stay.

If they are hanging over far enough to touch his house, that's more of a problem than just crossing the property line; you either have a fairly fast growing tree or your trimmer is not doing very much in that once a year trim to reduce the size of the tree from side to side.

[foma]

Originally Posted by stevek64

My understanding is your neighbor has a legal right not to have a neighbors trees hanging over his property. On a personal note, unless it's a huge 12" or 24" branch dangling over my roof that could fall/harm our property, I wouldn't care at all and actually like the look of a few branches of a neighbors tree reaching over our property. Maybe you can clarify the size and how many branches are hanging over?

As for the neighbors dog waking up your toddler every morning with barking.....I think you have every right to explain the situation nicely to him how his dogs effect your family negatively and to ask him if he could tone down his dogs. Especially since he has no problem asking you to solve something that may be trivial, I wouldn't think twice about it. Perhaps he'd also think twice about coming over your place and asking about your trees next time if the branches hanging over are indeed trivial.

My neighbor is more than welcome to trim on his side. I didn't know he could do that. He would literally be trimming the tips of the branches. Our property lies higher than his so the part of the tree that hangs over his property is not impeding on anything. I went back out just a second ago, the tips of the tree is hanging over his roof. Not laying on his roof or anything but the tips are over his roof, just barely. I think it's a Palo Verde tree (or similar) so the branches are really light. It's growing up (like it's very tall), not out.

In my opinion, this is definitely trivial. I can understand when they first moved here he was complaining. The house was foreclosed and nobody lived there for at least a year so we didn't really have to worry about the tree going over to someone's property. But we've kept up with it. Someone comes out every year to trim. I don't even think if we hired somebody they would be able to trim without going over to his property.

This is just so annoying. I really don't understand what the heck he's complaining about. I'll try to post pictures later. I doubt he'll even care that I'm having surgery soon, my Mom is coming to visit, and my daughter's birthday is coming up so my stress level is pretty high up there! But hey, let me stop everything and trim the tips of the branches for you. Yes, that was a little bit of sarcasm.

[DetroitN8V]

I have the opposite problem. My neighbor behind me has this giant sissoo tree in the corner of their lot that blocked off a two-story house that's next to them from my view. It hung well into my lot I didn't mind at all because of the privacy that it provided. They recently trimmed the hell out of it probably thinking that they were being courteous and now it barely hides that house. I should have gone over there and told them that it was no problem but it's too late now.

[foma]

Originally Posted by observer53

I don't see how this is a problem unique to Phoenix or even Arizona, unless there is some local ordinance that applies. I'll leave it here for now, but it may not stay.

If they are hanging over far enough to touch his house, that's more of a problem than just crossing the property line; you either have a fairly fast growing tree or your trimmer is not doing very much in that once a year trim to reduce the size of the tree from side to side.

Yeah, I figured every state had different "laws" about this kind of stuff. Plus, I wanted advice from Phoenix residents. Sorry ...

[grassfeeder]

You should have your landscaper trim the tree at the fence line so NONE of it hang onto his side....if its even close to his roof line, its too much in my opinion.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by foma

My neighbor is more than welcome to trim on his side. I didn't know he could do that.

Exactly and I agree. My experience has been this is what most people do.

Originally Posted by foma

But hey, let me stop everything and trim the tips of the branches for you. Yes, that was a little bit of sarcasm.

I hear you. People can become obsessed with things that seem trivial to most. What seems interesting is he complained about the tree making noise vs it being over his property? That's.....interesting?

In any case, sounds like you either pacify him and you trim the tree as often as he requests or perhaps another approach.......mention to him you have no problem having him trim the tree. You can sell it by telling him that way, he can trim it when/how he wants....just a thought.