Dead Trees, Unhealthy Trees, and Junk Trees Everywhere (This Will Cost A Small Fortune)
On Tuesday, when I shared about knocking down our back yard brick fireplace and planters (which you can read about here), someone pointed out the failing health of the tree that is just beyond the patio in our back yard. It’s a very tall live oak (I think) and it has been a problem for the last several years. This thing drops limbs pretty regularly, and especially when we get heavy rain or winds. It’s definitely a concern, and it’s clearly not in good health. Last year, we had a woodpecker that spent a great deal of time each day pecking away at this tree, so that was another indication to me that this tree might need to go sooner than later.
But that is far from the only “problem tree” we have in our back yard, and one reason I’ve put off doing anything in our back yard for so long is because of the sheer amount of money it will take to get all of the problem trees, overgrown shrubs, and vines cleared away. I’m sure I could cut down a lot of it myself, but I’d still have to have someone bring a woodchipper to clear it all away.
Just beyond that dying oak is a dying pecan tree. At least, I think it’s a pecan tree. (Keep in mind that I know absolutely nothing about plants and trees, so I have to rely on what others tells me.) This thing has been in bad shape since we’ve been here, but it’s gotten progressively worse over the years.
Here’s a look at that sad-looking tree from the other side.
But the real problem is this row of trees and vines and other mystery plants that divides our back yard into two sections.
When guests to our home look out of our back windows and doors, they always think that row of trees is the back of our property line. But as you can see, there’s a whole lot of property beyond that row of trees that remains hidden, and to date, completely unused.
If I stand right beside that row of trees, here’s the part of our back yard that lies beyond that row of trees that divides our back yard in half.
Our whole property is one acre, which is almost unheard of for properties inside the city limits. Generally, to have an acre or more, you have to be outside the city. But there are about five or six homes in a row on our street that have one-acre lots.
I seriously doubt that I’ll get to any of this during my outdoor projects detour that I’m on right now. For now, I want to concentrate on simpler, smaller, fun projects. But this is definitely on my radar. Heck, it’s been on my radar since we bought the house. So far, we’ve only cut down trees that have needed to go for safety reasons or for projects that were about to start.
We used to have a huge oak tree in this area between the carport and the patio…
I was sad to see it go, but I finally had enough of that tree when it dropped a huge limb and punctured a good-sized hole in the roof of the carport. That’s why the shingles on the carport roof don’t look like a consistent color. When I had that hole repaired, they used the same color shingles as before, but they didn’t completely match.
And then, of course, we had to have a whole lot of trees cleared when we finally had our driveway poured. That side of our house, to the back side of my workshop, used to be an overgrown mess of trees (probably junk trees) and vines and other mystery plants to the point that the neighbor’s fence on that side of our yard was pretty much hidden from view.
And while we only took the trees down that were necessary for the driveway, you can see most of those are gone now.
I’d love to go ahead and get all of this done, but there’s that one minor issue — money. 😀 When you have sooooo many projects that you want to do, and you don’t have an unlimited budget, so many things get pushed to the back burner. And this is one of the things that I’ve wanted to do for many years now, but it’s never felt like a priority.
Now that I’m starting to focus on the outside of our house, and especially now that I’ve already started tearing down the fireplace and envisioning what that might look like and what the view from the back patio will look like, I might at least go ahead and have my tree guy give me a price for removing all of this. At least if I have a price in mind, we can start planning for it.
I do feel a bit guilty because so far, all we’ve done is cut down trees. I haven’t made any attempt so far to replace any of them, but that’s in the plans as well. I was looking at the landscape plan to see what the landscape designer suggested for the area between the carport and the back patio, which is the purple tree at the bottom of this section below, and he suggested an eastern “forest pansy” redbud.
I had to look that up to see what it looks like, and it’s very pretty. According to Fast Growing Trees, it has deep purple leaves all year long. And a 5-6 foot tree is around $165.
So we have big plans, and I’m definitely aware of the dead and dying trees and the junk trees that need to be removed. If only I had a money tree then all of our roadblocks to getting these things done would be removed! 😀
On another note, I’ll finally have the final post about the studio bathroom for you tomorrow. I’m so sorry about the delay! I’ve got some non-house-related things going on “behind the scenes” that have caused some delays. Speaking of, there’s a very good chance that I’ll be out of pocket for a lot of next week, so if I don’t post on Monday through Thursday of next week, just know that everything is fine. Matt is doing well. I’ve just got a pressing personal situation going on that will be taking up most my time and attention next week, and I doubt that I’ll be able to spend much, if any, time on house-related projects during the week. But I will definitely be showing you the finished bathroom tomorrow!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I would say that it is definitely worth having those trees removed by a professional. It would free you up for doing other things, and you would protect yourself from injury. If you get hurt, you AND your husband AND your mother AND your brother would all be negatively affected — possibly for the rest of your life. As I age, I realize that there are some things worth paying for, and I will save up to have someone do the work.
I am also a caretaker of an adult son with special needs, so I can likely appreciate your role as caretaker better than those who may not fully understand because they have not yet had that experience. It is both a blessing and a responsibility that must be considered all the time. :).
I should have been clearer about that. I’d never take the big oak tree down myself. But I think there’s a lot of work in that row of overgrown trees that I could do myself. On the other hand, I’d never be able to do it as quickly as a crew of men could do it, so it would probably be worth it to just hire the whole thing out.
I recently stubbed my toe in my house, and I sustained a compound fracture to my toe as a result. I’ve been hobbling around for 6 weeks in a walking shoe. Frankly, I’m not as quick or as proficient or even able to do all my daily tasks for my son and in my house. Forget about vacuuming the stairs; I’ve gotten more takeout in the past month that I had in the previous 10 years. I’ve even had to rely on friends for grocery shopping and light bulb changing because my husband is currently overseas. Despite my personal will to do my usual activities and tasks, I’ve been forced to rest my foot more, so that I will heal fully. It’s been a struggle, and that was with just a broken toe (4th toe). It doesn’t take a big injury to have a big impact on life. 🙂
It’s a lot. Since my husband passed away a few months ago (and during his extended illness), I’ve had to take charge of the yard more. I have at least one tree that needs to be taken down. Fortunately, I think it’s one I can mostly take down myself since it has several bifurcations that are not too huge in diameter and are pretty low on the trunk. One thing I’ve found helpful is having a “handyman” that will come over and do yardwork. My neighbor referred him to me and he charges $20./hour. You might ask on Nextdoor who people use. I’m not suggesting this for the larger trees. You’ll still want your professional tree guy to handle those for safety reasons, but you may be able to find someone who can clean up the scrub dividing your yards for less. Sometimes you just have to delegate the not-so-fun stuff…..
I would have your tree guy tell you if he can treat the oak tree and make it healthy. It would be a nice shade for the patio until you move ahead with a future patio plan. Trees are very expensive to replace and you have to start off very small. Then there’s the cost of planting.
When I bought my Ohio house I had a half dead pin oak in front. I fact the street was called Oaklawn because every house had an oak in their lawn!
There were huge shrubs in front of the porch as well, that looked like an unruly mustache. That first Autumn I had all that pulled out/cut down and that’s when I planted my weeping cherry and dwarf Japanese maple. Unfortunately I also put in a Bradford pear tree that is now considered invasive and stinks to holy 🔥 when it blooms. But that’s the new owner’s cross to bear.🤪
My thinking is, you’d do well to tackle the outside while the weather is bearable and save the storage room for later.
I totally understand about the cost of removing trees. I’m having a large blue spruce removed this year as well as 3 dead trees along one side of yard. It’s going to cost a lot.
I love the picture of the red leafed tree that you posted, but I have a concern. It may be positioned too close to your house…….think roots pushing against your house’s foundation……more branches hanging over your roof again. Please check with a couple of trusted local garden centers (not big box stores) about the positioning. Good luck!
Completely agree about the suggested tree. Beautiful suggestion but in a very strange spot. Can’t see why you would want anything higher than a 4 ft bush next to the carport…
I agree. That’s a very large tree to plant that close to the house and carport.
I think you should consider a dwarf tree of some kind.
It is a redbud tree, too small to be a concern. I have one in my front yard now and had one in my previous home’s front yard for 15 years. It never got big enough to be a threat to the roof or the foundation or the sidewalk.They do not have invasive roots and the trees only get 15 – 20 feet tall. The Forest Pansy Redbud is particularly beautiful, especially when in bloom.
You are doing the right thing, take your time, and please do not try to take any of these trees down by yourself. We do it up here on the farm, and I have at least 5 healthy young men and huge tractors that we use to bring the trees down where we want them. I bought my husband a chipper shredder for his birthday some years ago, we have a stump grinding attachment for one of the big tractors, and 8 chainsaws. It’s still a huge project. I bought hubby a portable sawmill this Christmas and he has just been begging to get to use it, I think that time is just about upon us. I order from Fast Growing Trees all the time. Mostly fruit trees and fruit shrubs. Landscaping will be the last thing we do as we finish up the outside of the house. If you can catch some of their sales, you are in good shape. I just placed an order that cost over $2,200 but will all the sales and BOGO, just over $900, it’s still a lot, but putting in orchards with mature trees ain’t cheap. You’ve got this. Take care next week and we’ll all be looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Cheers to you and Matt!!!
If it were me, I would def look to get all the trees and shrubs removed now. Only because when you look out the window, you will have such a pretty view and it will make you happy! But, you may have other things you want to get done first. This time of year makes me yearn for a nice yard to spend time in. 🙂
In landscaping, you need to take care of the big things first. That means that you need to plant trees. They take years to grow and you can’t hurry them. I would have the two diseased trees removed. They are dangerous in that they could come down any time during a storm. Then look at a couple of young trees to plant in the front part of the back yard. The scrub shrubs/trees in the middle of the back yard can wait a little longer. Make it pretty in the front part and save the back half till later. That way you will have pretty landscaping to look at for now. The entire landscaping plan is a huge undertaking and will be very expensive. Plan to implement it a little at a time.
This is very wise advice in my experience.
Have you ever considered a HELOC to finance and get the yard done? Your yard is not something you’ll want to do in tiny chunks. It would be beneficial to have a company come in and clear, put in watering system, beds and seed all at the same time. And maybe the larger focal trees. You could fill in the rest later. Just remember that once you do your landscape it will take a considerable amount of your time to tend it or something you hire out
We have oak trees that are over 3 stories tall and 2 feet in diameter in our yard. One had two large branches broken by 70 mph wind gusts. We had the option of removing the tree or just removing the broken branches and putting cable in the tree so I know how expensive it is. I would definitely hire professionals to remove the large trees. Maybe you could invite family, friends and church group members to a scrub tree removal party. Grill burgers or order pizza and make it a fun time.
Just an fyi, I’ve ordered from FastGrowingTrees before, and they did a good job with shipping healthy plants.
I don’t recommend Fasting Growing Trees (6 Trees we got from them died eventually over the years). I always prefer buying trees and scrubs from a nursery that will guarantee them for life (or you get a refund- keep the receipts). Pike’s Nursery is our NC source but I’m sure other states have something similar.
Fast growing trees are not strong trees! They typically get diseases, aren’t strong, and break with strong winds. You want to purchase the biggest, slow growing trees you can afford. They earn their money by being healthy and strong, with long lives!
That looks like a purple leaf plum tree (ornamental). I used to have one but it is very susceptible to aphids and white fly. I sprayed a lot but in the end, it didn’t make it. That was quite a few years ago so I would ask about trees that are resistant or if there are newer sprays.
I had a Bradford pear prior to Hurricane Opal in the 90s. It got squished by my mature Sycamore tree but it saved my roof.
I know you said you have a tree guy, but I recommend getting at least a few quotes. I recently had two quotes done on a tree $1,200 and $850. So there can be a huge difference!
The best time to plant a tree is ten years ago. The second best time is now. They can be growing while you’re working on other things, and by the time you’re ready to sit on that patio, they’ll be giving shape and shade to the yard.
Whether or not you have the vegetation removed professionally or DIY it, be sure to keep the wood mulch produced by the wood chipper! Wood mulch is excellent in building healthy soil and weed suppression. I see from your landscape plan that you have future garden plots and many areas for flower beds and trees. All of these areas will benefit greatly from rough-cut wood chipper mulch to retain moisture, suppress weeds and build healthy soil. You could store all of the mulch in the area where your future gardens will be and use it as needed. In addition, any area of your yard you no longer want to mow or weed, lay down a bed of mulch four to six inches deep. In my area, mulch produced by a contractor is sold by the truck-bed load to landscapers and home owners. Love your posts! Best wishes to you and yours.
Do folks heat with wood much in your area of Texas? We had 11 huge (90 feet tall and taller) oak trees that needed to come down in our yard (we kept 8 standing). We asked our tree guy to cut the trees down, limb them and chip the limbs but leave the trunks. Then we advertised the trees on Craigslist and people who needed wood to heat their homes came and hauled away the trunks after cutting them in managable lengths. We saved quite a bit of money that way since our tree guy didn’t need to haul the trunks away.
Have you considered consulting an arborist (we got a recommendation through TAMU)? They can evaluate your trees to see what should probably go and what could be saved with a little TLC. But, you are right and this will be $$$. We have oaks that are approx 80 years old and it’s about $400/ each to have them trimmed each year (but we do live near downtown Houston and typically pay more for these types of services than someone in the ‘burbs).
You will be so happy to bite the bullet and spend the money on yard clean up. I have a great tree man and I can get you his number as soon as Gary gets home. The name is “Excellent Tree Trimming” or something like that. He has all the equipment to get rid of everything and he cleans up his mess perfectly.
Okay. Name is “Excellent Prices Tree Services”. His phone number is 254-339-5130. I don’t know his name, but he is Mexican and a very hard worker. He has a whole crew. Worth getting an estimate.
Our home is almost 50 years old and I have faithfully pruned so things don’t get out of control, but reality is that there is simply a lifespan for everything. I’ve found that we tried way too long on some things and were much happier after we removed them and started over.
We also love to DIY both for $ reasons and the satisfaction. Last year our kids said “who are you saving this money for? Not for us, we hope. Spend it.” So we did hire some small tree removal and threw in some pruning at the same time. We saved money by hauling it away. You could do the opposite by doing the small pruning and having your guy do the hauling since that fits you better. Our guy was very helpful in giving his estimate for everything separately and that informed our decisions. I’m glad you know your limits and are having them do the big (big=more dangerous!) ones.
Your garden plan is beautiful albeit very ambitious and will require a lot of maintenance. Start with a couple of large things (you’ll want your trees to grow and that can take time) and you can go from there. My husband’s mantra is “grass is easy to grow and mow but flower beds take a LOT of time and can get out of control quickly.” Chemicals or no chemicals, mulch or no mulch, he’s right and I’ve learned to scale back.
That one tree looks like it is ready to crack in half. If it was me, and I am constantly living paycheck to paycheck just with normal necessary bills, no frills, no shopping, no eating out, no DIY as badly as many things need to be repaired around here, I would have it all taken out now and get rid of it once and for all. I know it is really expensive since I had to take down 19 trees here that were endangering the house, but it was that or have them fall on the house and wish I had done it. At least yours are pointed away from any structures. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Someone with a skid loader or something similar might be able to mow through that entire tree line in no time. You have so much to do in addition to your main priority, Matt, to get badly injured doing something you shouldn’t be doing. When you eventually get the beautifully landscaped yard in the drawing, that will be a lot of work to maintain. Will you have time for all of that? I was wondering who cuts your grass.
We had a huge oak (well over 100 years old) in our backyard. We took it out about 20 years ago because it dropped branches constantly. There was a 7′ tall hole in the center of that tree. I could have easily stood inside it!
Please look into using H. O. W tree service. They are a nonprofit that that trains men in recovery to be able to work professionally. They’ve always done perfect work for me.
If tree conditions are a concern, you can call your county extension agent for a few assessment. We did that and our trees have oak Wilt. It is running rampant in Texas . We have lost several very large oaks.
Hi Kristi: It seems like you’ve got alot a good advice already. Definitely get a tree service to deal with the biggest/most necessary tree issues, and shop around for best prices… maybe neighbors know of some good local guys. Is there anybody from church or friends who can help you attack the overgrown tickets? I was so grateful when a guy from church and his buddy showed up to help me trim some overgrown bushes. It was quick work!
Also maybe look into getting advice from an arborist to pin point top tree issues for your yard. Local tree nurseries might have good insight, along with trees suitable for TX. I was surprised E Redbuds are native to some parts of TX, but they don’t get very big, 20 ft tops, yet my nbr who has one doesn’t think they’re very long-lived. He is having some issues with his 15+ yr old tree, like dieback, and he takes his care of it. So maybe try a species redbud over the purple one for hardiness?
Some other small flowering trees probably good for TX are Vitex and “Bubba” Willow (ha that name!) Desert Willow ‘Bubba’
Chilopsis linearis ‘Bubba’, and the latter is native to TX! So if you want the birds and butterflies to come, be sure to include a few natives.
I’m guessing you just want to thin out the thickety areas? That will stay natural? Then you can have natural cover/habitat for wildlife and you don’t need to maintain them maybe beyond occasional pruning. And yes, save the woodchip Mulch (nothing diseased) and let people know they can take the cut up trunks for firewood. A thick layer of mulch can also smother weeds.
For small weed trees/junk trees, after I trim them I dab the cut area only with glysophate (round-up) and it kills the trees. It can work on unwanted vines too. Not a fan of pesticides, but a spot treatment like this is effective on weed trees. Good luck!
As you are puttering around outside completing projects, I thought I would bring up your post below, from March 22, 2018. Your mom had an excellent idea and I envision you and Matt putting a front courtyard deck to seasonal good use. During the months when the oppressive Texas heat will make spending time in your backyard during the evening impossible, you will have a lovely place to enjoy mornings outdoors with the rising sun. And in the cooler months you both will gaze across your backyard vista to warming afternoon sunshine. This seasonal variety provides the spice of life!
At the same time you pour the footings for the bedroom door landing and stairs, you could also pour the footings for your courtyard deck. Then, when you are ready to tackle those projects the footings will be there waiting for you. And didn’t you mention recently about replacing the front porch decking planks? It would make sense that when you build the courtyard deck, that you would then replace the front porch decking.
It may be nice to put French doors out from your breakfast room to this courtyard deck, bringing in additional light to that room and encourage use of the deck. The large breakfast room window could be reused in your future addition exercise room or guest bedroom.
Proposed Order of Operations: spring’26-outdoor odds & ends and sunroom touch-up, summer-storage room, fall-pour footings, build bedroom landing and stairs, winter-workshop tool organization, spring’27-French doors?, build courtyard deck, replace front porch deck boards, add new porch skirting at the same time as deck skirting.
Then, I think by the middle of next year you will be very proud of the pretty forward-facing part of your’s and Matt’s home!
This all relates back to Thursday’s post. When you decide to have the backyard trees and shrubs removed and their stumps ground down, consider having the front courtyard junk shrub removed and those stumps ground down, too. This will (hopefully) prevent future suckers from growing in that location. And then the courtyard site will be ready for future deck footings.
https://www.addicted2decorating.com/my-moms-brilliant-front-porch-idea-is-it-worth-the-cost-and-effort.html
I had commented on the tree ( I confess!) only because we also have a few trees on our acre lot that need to be taken down! So I’m always hyper focused when I see sick trees. Our unused part of our acre is to the side of our house. Between the house and the weeded part is a drainage “dip” that carries rainwater into the lake behind our house, so this area is not that usable to us unless we build a bridge, and we have no reason to do so. Next to that part though is our neighbors house, and we are aware that our mess does not do his property any good, so My husband has finally gotten around to trying to clear/clean up what he can on his own. My dream is to showcase the quite large granite chunk of stone in the middle of the mess! I had found it when the foundation was being dug for our house, and asked the builder if it was possible to bring it to the front yard as a feature! He checked it out and said “No way, that thing is about 4,000 lbs easy, if not double! It’s very deep in the soil and we can’t find the bottom. But the top is awesome! With the brush tamed, it is a cool seat for a couple of people! I wanted to hire goats to clear the land, but they don’t do trees, and we have at least four Post Oaks that can come down, along with wild rose and other thorny things, but the money is our issue too as Seniors. So I totally get your problem!
Trees can drink a lot of water, and you have so many plants in your landscaping plan. Please consider, if the architect didn’t, the massive water crisis which is going to worsen with time. If you don’t notice draught where you are, please think of other regions affected by how much water doesn’t make it past yours.
Live oaks can have special rules in many states/communities, especially for mature trees. Check into that first so you don’t get in trouble.
My favorite trick when younger was burn the landscaping. You cut it small enough to burn, then throw it in a fire. It may not be pretty, but you got room for a bonfire set-up temporarily. So you cut it up less, Build an oversized fire ring with the stone you got (not the final but 2x around so you can chop up things rougher) and prep an area where the plan has the firepit. Look up if there’s burn ordinances. Remove and burn the sm-medium landscaping waste. The carbon can likely be blended into the soil in new beds. Then you hire the big guns to do the big stuff and haul the larger stuff away. If you burn plants that hold a lot of water it does crackle/pop – so be weary of that or just start with small stuff or let it dry out if unsure. The tools I use is a lopper (prefer Fiskars power gear), hand pruner, and a power tool. I can’t remember the name of our power tool, it functions like a chainsaw, but limits the size to 3″ and has more control than an open saw on a stick. For some of the smaller junk trees you could rent out a stump grinder or chain saw to handle them. Do invite a handy friend to supervise with you when using power tools. That increases safety in reasonable numbers vs frustrated injuries.