Large sycamore tree in garden

[KT57]

I also have a large sycamore at the back of my London garden. It was crowned about 10 yrs ago but needs cutting again as it is very tall and wide now. Also, ivy has grown up it -now about 2/3 of its height and width. I'm told this doesn't hurt the tree but it is overtaking it.
I love my sycamore. I sit in my garden and watch a wood pigeon pair coo away and squirrels running up and down it. Many more birds visit too. OK, the insects are aggravating as is collecting leaves every autumn but to have so much wildlife in London is great.
However, can it affect my foundations?
It's a long skinny garden so the tree is about 50 feet from the house (and about 60-70 from my neighbours.
It originally had an order, alng with a partner 2 gardens away but it's partner has been felled, a willow in its place. So I guess the order was removed.

Consider yours carefully before cutting it down and I think you'd have to be very careful about possible damage to neighbours or their gardens.

[lorax]

KT57 You don't say how tall it is?
There is a possibility that it could exacerbate clay shrinkage subsidence. Do you have cracks appearing? (If so contact your insurer). But be aware that there are other causes of subsidence (faulty drains for example).
Do not assume that your tree is not still protected as your neighbours may have got permission from the council to fell their tree for one reason or another. Usually council's will insist on a replacement tree being planted if permission is granted. This would explain the willow. I would be amazed if it was felled on grounds of subsidence damage as planting a willow as a replacement is likely to result in a greater problem in years to come.
Don’t worry about the Ivy, it makes an excellent hotel for all manner of birds and insects and may even provide shelter for bats. At worst it will slow the growth of the tree but only if it gets well into the crown.
My advice would be to heave the tree pollarded back to the previous pruning points and maybe have the ivy cut back a little at the same time. This will limit the root proliferation of the tree minimising the risk of subsidence damage occurring to your property.
Sycamores become beautiful trees as they mature. I'm glad you enjoy yours and hope you will continue to look after it.

Lorax

[river]

I am in the process of buying a house which has a large sycamore in the garden probably less than 6 meters from the property. The tree is quite a bit higher than the house. The neighbour also has a sycamore in their garden. The owner did say that I couldn't cut the tree down but could crown it. Does anyone know how far the roots will spread? I'm so concerned about it that I'm considering stopping the sale. Thanks

[Dorts]

As with most trees standing alone, the roots will run at least twice the width of the crown and in many cases much more.
So for example, if the total crown width of your tree is say 8m (26ft.) some roots could potentially run for 8m in one any direction from the trunk.
Where they come up against a building they will usually run sideways along it.
Dorts.

[river]

Thank you Dorts for your reply. I'm now showing my total ignorance of trees because I'm not sure what the crown is. Is it including the branches around the top of the tree?

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by river

Thank you Dorts for your reply. I'm now showing my total ignorance of trees because I'm not sure what the crown is. Is it including the branches around the top of the tree?

Sorry. The 'crown' is the total mass of branches on the tree. This usually refers to, where there is a visible trunk, the upper two-thirds/three-quarters or so. So the width of the crown, is the width of the longest branches in both directions from the trunk, looking at the side where the branches are longest.
Hope that make it a bit clearer.
Dorts.

[Hawk Roosting]

Originally Posted by Glenn1886

Hello Phil, I've done quite a lot of research on the possibility of Sycamore being a native species of the British Isles and would be very interested to read more about wherever you have seen this could you let me know how I could find this.

Glenn

Ted Green might be the person to speak to, I remember him stating that (in his opinion) sycamore is 'more native' than field maple.

[Hawk Roosting]

Originally Posted by KT57

However, can it affect my foundations?

Impossible to say (from just a post on the internet) as there are too many variables: tree age/vigour (hence water demand), soil type (likely to be shrinkable clay in London if the house is on 'native soil', but there are plenty of places in London where houses are built on what are essentially man-made substrates), relative ages of house and tree, foundation depth, construction type etc. etc. A qualified arboricultural consultant (not just a tree surgeon) may be able to provide some idea of the risk of subsidence, but even this will be educated guesswork.

Unless the tree is causing visible signs of subsidence it may be best to leave well alone. Removing the tree as a pre-emptive measure could cause problems in itself - if the house was built on shrinkable but desiccated clay (as a result of the pre-existing presence of a mature tree extracting water), then removing the tree could cause the clay to rehydrate and swell which could lead to heave. (Please note how many time I have used the word 'could' here - this is entirely hypothetical and only a site-specific survey will give any clue as to the likelihood of heave/subsidence/any other tree-related damage).

As for the ivy, it won't 'strangle' a mature tree, but it may a) increase the sail area and possibly increase the risk of failure (of the tree or of an individual branch) due to wind and b) hide any fruiting bodies of decay fungi. As long as the tree is healthy and free of decay, then personally I feel ivy is of benefit as it increases the biodiversity value of the tree by providing habitat for all sorts of wildlife.

[river]

Yes, much clearer. Now I know what a crown is. Thanks Dorts.

[river]

Hi. I think I need an arborist to check out THE tree. Does anyone know of a certified arborist in the area around Chester, Cheshire? There doesn't seem to be an abundance of them. Thanks