On Mar 18, 11:44*am, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
My new neighbours have employed some (foreign) builders to do major work in
their house and garden. There were a number of trees in the garden quite
near the house which they were instructed to remove completely....
Two conifers that had had their tops cut off many year ago.
A large mature previously pollarded walnut tree that always did lean over
because of the conifers shading it.
A decent sized golden yew that had been pollarded years ago.

Yesterday we were sitting having coffee with a friend who is a trained
gardener/arboriculturist and he suddenly looked out of our window and said
"why is that fir tree moving backwards and forwards so much?". We all rushed
upstairs to look. The builders had dug around the base, exposed the roots,
had chopped most through, and were busy using ropes to try to pull the tree
over by waggling it back and forth. Few branches had been removed
beforehand. The tree eventually dropped exactly where it should have and
then they started removing branches. Whilst we were out they managed to do
the same to the walnut even though it was leaning over a fence, without
damaging the fence. Today they have removed the remaining fir tree the same
way and will soon start on the yew. Mind you they also appear to be
attacking a cedar that is down the end of the garden and that the new owner
told me he wanted to keep.

A totally different way to remove trees including most of the roots.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Now you make me feel guilty; in my short gardening career I have
removed 3 trees, all small but removed with huge difficulty by exactly
the method you describe. It takes ages and is much harder than you
expect; the final parts involve all manner of woodworking and pruning
tools being used to try to chop through roots accompanied by frantic
rocking to try to lever the trunk out and snap the final roots.
What is the proper way to do it? I guess, the short cut is to cut the
trunk through near ground level and maybe pay someone to grind the
stump out?

Des