Maurice O\’Sullivan asked 13 years ago
I live in a estate planted with a lot of native Irish trees. There are some Horse Chestnut trees planted approx. 6 feet from my boundary wall and approx 10 feet from the gable end of my house. The trees are approx 10 years old and approx. 20ft high. The crowns are still qiute compact. The house is 11yrs old. Should I be worried about root damage? Do I need to have them removed or can the root spread be minimised by constant pruning of the crown?
1 Answers
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
Horse chestnut is a big tree and has a tendency to drop large branches. While it has been okay for some years and proabbly will be okay for a few more, at 10 feet, it is too close to the house.
It is best to remove such trees and plant garden trees of more suitable size.
It is possible to pollard chestnut trees to keep their tops small, lrge lollipop style, cutting all branches back each year to three or four years, but this is an on-going effort.
