Wanting a garden, one small problem....

[mnfathead]

We'd like to put a garden in the back yard, but we have the largest cedar tree i've ever seen in about the only spot that gets enough sun. My father in law seems to think that someone would PAY us to get the wood, anyone heard of this? The tree has atleast 7 large trunks and must be pushing 40-50 feet tall. Any info would be great thanks.

P.s. Has anyone removed them yourself? if so is it a major pain in the rump or not to bad?

[Tom7227]

Don't know about the value of the wood but the stump and root ball will be a major PITA. I pulled an arbor vitae from near the house once and the roots were like steel wool out about 2-3 feet from the drip line. They held a huge amount of soil. I ended up using the pickup to pull it out, along with a lot of digging. I also used the hose several times to wash the dirt off the roots and try and loosen the soil.

I suspect if you do get rid of it that the soil chemistry will lean towards acidic so you'd be wise to get a soil test done and then add whatever is needed like lime, etc.

[FBMH]

Im sure there are people out there who would want to have that cedar wood. Cedar is a stronger, more durable type of wood that is perfect for cabinets or wood flooring and isnt as expensive as other types of wood. Cedar runs about $2 per board foot. If you have a 40-50ft cedar tree, it could be worth more than you think

[Big-Al]

If the cedar is sound and if there is a descent volume if you can fine the right person, you might be able to give the tree away for the service of cleaning up the mess. Then there is the stump.

Cedar is a specialty wood that not a lot of people deal with.

[Nainoa]

If the cedar is sound and if there is a descent volume if you can fine the right person, you might be able to give the tree away for the service of cleaning up the mess. Then there is the stump.

Cedar is a specialty wood that not a lot of people deal with.

Yeah milled and dried cedar is a great wood to work with... But all those IF's need to line up.

I would look for a local sawmill and go have a chat!

[pureinsanity]

if you just want to get rid of it, I would put an add up on a HSOforum saying what it is and they must come and remove it. You are of course left with a truck, this would be a trunk you would need to have someone come in with a stump grinder and get down and deep.

Tom you think arbor vitae is bad on roots! You should pull out a 20 year old Juniper bush Now that has an incredible root system. We couldn't even pull it out with the skid loader we had to get a bunch of chains and get a running start with the dump truck to pull that sucker out! lol

[Tom7227]

There was a juniper next to the arbor vitae. Thanks for reminding me of that. I wish I had had a Komatsu with a 1 yard bucket.

[fivebucks]

I would have a hard time removing a big 100+ year old cedar just for a garden (I hate weeding gardens due to my father). Cedars are having a hard time regenerating due to the deer loving to eat them. We have a bunch of near old growth cedar at our cabin and they are way too cool of a tree. I know sometimes trees have to go. Not judging you just giving my view.

[pureinsanity]

We mow all the cedar trees down here. They grow and spread so fast they get mulched by mower blades.

Cool looking tree but I hate working with them!

[mnfathead]

Its a huge tree, and actually we've heard it was voted the most beautiful tree in our town some years back before we bought the house. The wife and I would both love a garden and our yard is framed in by tall trees so its basically the only option we have that gets enough sun.

[pureinsanity]

Leave the tree, you will have ticked off neighbors and townspeople if you remove it.

[mnfathead]

Well i could really give 2 s@#ts about that, more concerned with the root system and such.

[SkunkedAgain]

What you might give two carps about is the affect on your utility bills. Depending on where this tree is position (you said that it gets a lot of sun), it may be the only shade keeping that afternoon sun from heating up your house. The previous owners of our house ripped out the afternoon sun tree, and our house heats up like an oven.

You know, my wife has a list of things that she wants in/around our house. I always bring up the fact that each house is unique and unless you pay the $$$, you can't get everything you want in a house. Sometimes it's the big bathroom, sometimes it's the perfect kitchen setup, or sometimes it's not having the garden. Obviously you know what's most important to you and yours, but that sounds like a beautiful tree to remove just for a garden.

Specifically to your question, my neighbors had to take down a problematic tree and replant. The tree removal company gave a substantial discount because they could sell the wood, but it certainly wasn't a free removal.

[FishLocker]

SkunkedAgain is right, Tree removal is very expensive and you have to pay them to remove the wood if you do not want it. Large hardwood trees are removed many times for free, but you do not fall into that category. You can buy a LOT of veggies for the price of removing a tree if you have to pay to have it removed. Or rent a garden plot?

Then again, don't tell your wife that or she may bring it up when you are ready for a new boat

I worked for a tree company while in college. I remember going to clean up the mess after a homeowner tried to take down a tree. A slight breeze changed the fall line. We were lifting the branches out of the roof. He found out regular homeowners insurance did not cover his mistake. That was decades ago, and insurance policies may have changed since then. But worth checking before you fire up the saw.

[Bear55]

Edit: Sorry posted in the wrong thread.

[Steve Foss]

If you were close to me I'd take it out for expenses instead of my usual tree removal rate, with you cleaning up the leftover branches and me taking all the wood. I've been looking for some cedar firewood for the cabin. It smells so wonderful.

And no, I'm not into chopping up valuable lumber trees for firewood.

But lumber value depends on which type of cedar it is, and quite a few other factors. Just because it's mature doesn't guarantee it's worth much $ as lumber. And the fact that there are so many trunks implies each trunk isn't all that thick. Thinner the trunk, lower the lumber value, in general. Also, many mills won't touch an ornamental yard tree. Why? Nails, hooks, wire, and other metal things that get driven into ornamental trees and disappear when the tree grows over them. Saws don't like that kind of stuff.

Of course, if you want the stump pulled, that's gonna cost you some real money. I've pulled a lot of stumps by digging, chopping and pickuping. It's always a lot of work with a mature tree. Good news is, any cedar roots left in the ground won't sucker like many hardwoods do.

But you COULD remove the tree, have it cut down to ground level, and then build raised veggie garden beds around it. That way you won't have to remove the root ball/stump, and raised beds offer a lot of advantages in other ways. Just one option to think about.