Hi, This is my first post so hoping all works well. An arborist has seen the neighbours 'senior citizen' aspen and called it a hazard. The problem is that the tree base is about 10' from our house with the lower limbs on the right overhanging our walk and patio. The live limbs have green leaves (left side of the photo, but the lower limbs on the right are completely dead-- they appear green because of Virginia creeper. The neighbour likes the tree and the vine but they don't have to sit or walk under those limbs. So far, only small pieces have self-pruned. The tree is probably close to 35 feet tall. It has some cankers and bark damage on the limbs. I've had to cut some of the roots in my lawn and garden but the arborist said this should not have damaged the tree. It does not lack roots! How old would this tree likely be at this height and how much of a real danger is it in this condition-- enough to risk upsetting neighbours to ask about removal? At least I'd feel more comfortable sitting on the patio if the the lower limbs were removed. Thanks
Looks like a hazard tree to me, which is to be expected as individual Aspen stems don't live all that long. When it dies or is cut, it will of course send up a forest of root sprouts to regenerate.
