Not only did the leaves come tumbling down, but so did the branches…..limbs…..and trunk!
If you follow me on Instagram, then you might remember seeing photos this summer of our Bradford Pear split in two! The evening after we got back from vacationing at the Gulf we heard a huge “whoosh” while eating dinner! We all ran to the front door, only to have this greet us…..
Yep, half the tree seemed to split in the wind storm we were having and came crashing down…….narrowly missing our porch roof (thank god for small blessings), but crushing our bushes and our ornamental Crimson Queen Maple. {SIGH} You can see a glimpse of the Crimson Queen in the left of this photo. It is literally wheezing “I can’t breathe…save me….save me….this beast is crushing meeeeeeee”!
Total exaggeration!
It was more like me crying out as the Maple was my baby that I had been cultivating and training since planting it 14 years ago.
Let me first say that this Bradford Pear was only planted 14 years ago…..same week that I planted the Crimson Queen. It was one of those spindly, straggly $9.99 specials at Walmart.
It obviously LOVED its location as it was HUGE! It had the most amazing flowers in the Spring, and the most god awful red berries in the Fall. Most of the time the flowers outweighed the burden of the berries……most of the time!! 😉
We thought that it had been hit by lightening…….but when I called the insurance agent to inquire, I was told that it would be black and charred.
It was not black…..and it was not charred!
As insurance wouldn’t be helping us out, B was full steam ahead. This is what he brought home from work the following day……
He thought he was going to cut down the tree……ALL BY HIMSELF! LOL!
Lord I love that kid!! Boy was he mad when we told him it wasn’t going to happen. Even though he didn’t do it all by himself, B still played a vital part in dismantling the beast….
I went to social media to try to find a local company on the cheap….. Cheap is what I found!!
It turned out our friend was wanting some of the wood for the upcoming winter hibernation, and he was willing to oversee the project in return.
Kevin admitted later that he watched a you tube video to see about making the final cut so that it wouldn’t fall on anyone. OMG!
He was absolutely fearless in the tree….
What did I tell you….it was HUGE!
As we had more bad weather in the forecast that week, I was a little nervous that another storm would have the other half crashing into our garage and K’s bedroom……
If you are thinking that Kevin and B did all the work you are WRONG!
It was a systematic procedure over 2 evenings. Kevin was the crazy one climbing in the tree ……. trust me when I say that B was pissed that we weren’t letting him up there 😉 …. B was cutting the limbs into manageable pieces, and PT, K and I were hauling the flimsy branches to the trailer, and the logs to his truck and our backyard.
We also had to rope off some of the branches so that we could pull them in our direction (towards the street) when they were being cut. If we didn’t they could have made a bee line to the house.
Did I tell you that PT had a couple cracked ribs during this ordeal…….. Not that he would have gotten up in that tree if he was healthy! I just wanted to make sure you all knew he wasn’t a total wimp! He had a good reason this time!!
How did he crack the ribs? He fell down these…… OOPS!!
See that trunk on the left? That is sitting in our garage waiting for me to trim it up…..slap some legs on it…….and call it a side table. One of these days!!
So why did I feel compelled to write about the loss of our humongous, gorgeous tree?
First, I wanted a shoulder to cry on……. Although I am sad over the great shade the tree provided us (seriously, B never had to shut his blinds for privacy…no one could see his bedroom window through the canopy of the tree), I am not sad over all the red berries making a mess on our driveway each Fall. Nor am I unhappy about the roots starting to lift up a section of said driveway.
No…..I am more anxious over my baby.
What was once a gorgeous, round Crimson Queen Maple is now a sad pathetic, sickly tree. I trimmed it best I could, and hope that it pulls through next Spring. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!
I also need some advice….
I need to start planning some landscaping for the Spring.
I have 2 areas that need work. Take a look at the arrows! The one on the corner used to be a disease prone crab apple. I am also thinking about doing a kidney shaped island where the other arrow is.
What do you think?
If I go with this, what kind of tree do you think would do well near a hot pavement, and what would look best on the corner that wouldn’t get too tall?
The loss of a tree can be hard….but it is also a time for 2nd chances!! Uh-huh!!
Throw it at me, I open to just about anything. I am really not up for too much thinking and planning this Winter. I have something called a kitchen on my brain, and there is only so much that can fit in my tiny brain!!
That is why I am relying on YOU to help me out with ideas……
What do you say??? Wanna help a girl out????
Oh yeah…..PT’s ribs healed and we finally got the stump out a couple of weeks ago. These 2 were awesome (even though they look like they have no idea what they are doing), and within a couple of hours the stump was ground up and grass seed was planted.
Don’t forget to tell me what you think I should do with the front yard landscaping!!?? Don’t leave a girl hanging……for too long anyway…….
I like that you explained how you got the branches to fall away from the house. I would have been very cautious about that, especially with a tree as big as yours. Roping off the branches so you can pull them toward the street is a great way to prevent damage to your house. Thanks for sharing the ordeal!
Thanks Hazel! I was nervous as all get out, but knew if it was planned out we could make it work. Still haven’t completed the landscaping in the front yet…. 😉
I had the same concern when I thought about cutting down a tree in my backyard. The branches were too close to my house for comfort so I hired a professional to remove a tree. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, that looks like quite the project. I have seen to many horrible videos of trees falling on cars and houses, when we removed ours I had to get help. I’m glad everything went well.
You and me both! I was expecting the worse and very happy it didn’t come to that! 😉
Amazing that your situation should happen at this time! It just so happens we bought a house with a huge Bradford pear in the front yard that I would love to get rid of, because it blocks practically the entire front of the house! The neighbors are against it because they’ve all seen it in bloom in the Spring, but I haven’t, and the landscape is pretty terrible with that ugly tree. Now that I’ve seen the before and after of your house, I’m convinced the house will look great without the tree! Your house looks so fresh, and your landscape possibilities are endless! No more big trees hiding the house! Landscape to ENHANCE the house! Good luck!
Thanks Carol! You have to do what is right for “you”, not your neighbors! If you want your Bradford pear gone…..then get rid of it!! 😉 Good luck!!
Shauna, that machine that was used for taking out the stump, does it dig the stump out or how does it do it? A stump removal is something that I myself am looking to find. The thing is I would want to know how it would operate especially for a stump that is connected to another stump.
Andre, this machine just grinds up the stump. You will then have to dig around to get all of the roots.
Hey – monitor for a while – I know that you got rid of the stump, but Bradford Pears will sprout back up – like a noxious weed. Be very glad you got rid of that thing!
My next-door neighbor planted about 14!!! right down the property line a couple of decades ago. We didn’t know any better and let him do it! We split the cost of cutting them down (we thought) at one point, but they were only cut back to 4-6′ tall and in just a couple of years were monsters again and because so close together tall/spindly and completely shade (no grass possible) my back yard. Split branches, blocked tv reception, roots in septic drain fields, …
Did your guys have problems with the thorns? They’re wicked! And the blossoms smell like sewage. I read that the wood smells like sweaty gym-socks when burning, so your friend may want to test-burn first – it’s not a real fruitwood. It doesn’t matter what you plant – anything will be better than that species of tree! There is nothing good about them. Okay, enough of that vent!
Thanks for the tip Joyce….I will watch for the sprouts. I didn’t know this about the Bradford Pear…..I only thought it was the honeysuckle that came back like a bad penny!