We are based in Dublin, Ireland.

We have a pair of mature lime trees at the end of our garden.

Both trees have a vigorous growth of shoots, about 6-8 feet tall, around the
base.

We want to construct a wooden fence near one of the trees. We have been told
that if we cut back the shoots, in order to erect the fence a bit nearer to
the tree, they will just grow back more vigourously.

We have also been told that if we erect the fence without cutting back the
shoots, but erect it as near as possible to the shoots that;

a. It will be difficult to maintain the fence (self evident, I suppose!)

b. Moisture from the shoots and the tree itself, particularly after rain,
will only serve to keep the fence damp and greatly shorten its life. The
fence faces due North on the tree side, so drying/airing the fence would be
a bit problematical if it is very close to the tree.

The only thing against this is that the guy erecting the fence claims that
the wood is pressure treated and virtually immune to weather damage.

There is no question of adversely affecting the tree in any way, but there
is a bit of an issue with neighbours about the line of the fence. The closer
it is to the tree, the more ground they will have on their (South facing)
side.

If we could persuade our neighbours to run the fence, say, 2 feet from the
shoots, would they grow out to it anyway? Or do they tend to achieve
critical mass and stay they way they are?

Any views?

Thanks.

D.

Dinarius wrote:
We are based in Dublin, Ireland.

We have a pair of mature lime trees at the end of our garden.

Both trees have a vigorous growth of shoots, about 6-8 feet tall,
around the
base.
[...]

A fence made of pressure treated lumber will outlast you. :-)

Whether you want the volunteers there or not is a matter of taste. Just
do what you want with them. Under Common Law, your neighbour is entitled
to cut back any shoots that grow on his property, but he is not entitled
to use any tree-killing herbicide on them.

When you remove young suckers the idea is to pull them off with a small
piece of the heel attached because it contains many undeveloped bud
cells for new suckers.
When you remove these larger suckers you will most likely have to cut
them off close to flush, any new suckers that this stimulates can be
easily rubbed off with your thumb before the tissue hardens. (Providing
you pay attention)

Many thanks.

I should have explained that the property is commonage, which my neighbour and I are dividing between. However, the two limes trees are indisbutably on what will be our half of the ground. My neighbour has no problem with this. My only concern is for the tree, first and foremost, and for my ability to preserve/maintain the fence.

I was hoping to be able to argue that it was necessary to keep the fence a little bit clear of the lime tree shoots. If I understand you both correctly, this isn't so?

Thanks.

D.

Lime trees (which we call linden trees in the US) are very prone to
suckering, mostly from very low on the trunk, not from the roots... A yearly
pruning of the shoots is usually necessary, but doesn't seem to harm the
tree. As someone else indicated, the watchful gardener can just rub off the
leaves or small branches as they emerge, and avoid using pruning tools at
all. It sounds as though your suckering shoots are quite large now. They can
be cut off nearly flush with the trunk, but you will have to keep after
them, because they are going to want to sucker for years...
"Dinarius" wrote in message
news

We are based in Dublin, Ireland.

We have a pair of mature lime trees at the end of our garden.

Both trees have a vigorous growth of shoots, about 6-8 feet tall,
around the
base.

We want to construct a wooden fence near one of the trees. We have been
told
that if we cut back the shoots, in order to erect the fence a bit
nearer to
the tree, they will just grow back more vigourously.

We have also been told that if we erect the fence without cutting back
the
shoots, but erect it as near as possible to the shoots that;

a. It will be difficult to maintain the fence (self evident, I
suppose!)

b. Moisture from the shoots and the tree itself, particularly after
rain,
will only serve to keep the fence damp and greatly shorten its life.
The
fence faces due North on the tree side, so drying/airing the fence
would be
a bit problematical if it is very close to the tree.

The only thing against this is that the guy erecting the fence claims
that
the wood is pressure treated and virtually immune to weather damage.

There is no question of adversely affecting the tree in any way, but
there
is a bit of an issue with neighbours about the line of the fence. The
closer
it is to the tree, the more ground they will have on their (South
facing)
side.

If we could persuade our neighbours to run the fence, say, 2 feet from
the
shoots, would they grow out to it anyway? Or do they tend to achieve
critical mass and stay they way they are?

Any views?

Thanks.

D.


--
Dinarius