Advice required about (conifer - type) tree growing in my garden

 
About a year ago I noticed a little tree sprouting out of the ground up
against the wall of my ground floor flat.  I am not entirely sure what
kind of tree it is but a conifer of some sort - I am not particularly
knowledgeable about these things - so I will just call it a 'christmas
tree type tree'!!  In the last year it has grown so much, it is now
about 4 ft tall.  Lovely though it is (and I would love to leave it) BUT
I am concerned about the roots (eventually) causing damage to the
building.

So here is my question - I don't want to kill it really but I think it
can't stay where it is.

What are my options?  if I keep chopping it back so that it stays small
(ish) will the roots then also stay smaller?  Or can I dig it up and
replant it elsewhere in the garden (away from the property).

Any advice greatly appreciated.  Thank you.




--
JaneS

 
Conifers tend to have shallow, extensive roots.  The tree is only a
couple of years old and should cope with a move.   If digging it up be
very careful not to strip the protective skin from the roots or you
will kill it.  Dig wide and deeply around the tree and try to lift it
with a good rootball of soil still attached.  Plant in a hole pre-
prepared to a greater depth than you expect and adjust as you offer up
the tree for planting.  Water thoroughly when planting and keep moist
for the first full year.  In my experience, conifers cope with being
cut back but not severely; too heavy a pruning could kill it.  A photo
would help in identification - if it turns out to be a Leylandii you
might not want to keep it.

Cheers,
Compo in Caithness

 
Compo in Caithness;909336 Wrote:

Thank you very much for your reply.  Have now done a bit of research and
one thing I do know is that is is NOT a Leylandii -  I am rather an
amateur at this but if I had to guess at it I would say it is a Douglas
Pine - don't know if that would make any difference to your instructions
though.  Once again thanks for advice.




--
JaneS

 On Thu, 6 Jan 2011 13:20:30 +0000, JaneS


Ah, no problem, then: if that really is what you've got, Douglas firs
only get to a maximum of less than four hundred feet high. You might
have one of the smaller ones, of course: they don't make more than
about seventy feet...just the job for the garden outside a flat.
Seriously, I think you should harden your heart and get rid of it. I'd
probably give the same advice about any self-sown unidentified conifer
to anybody who didn't have a very big garden to play with: you need to
choose what you have in your patch, rather than relying on guesswork.

--
Mike.

 
JaneS;909287 Wrote:

You can grow many kinds of conifer from seed, but many of them require
human intervention in a British climate. So I'm not aware of Leylandii
and its friends self-seeding.  What certainly can self seed very easily
are the commericially grown spruces - Sitka and Norway - which is
precisely a "christmas tree type thing".  Scots pine, yew and prickly
juniper are native, so presumably they would self seed. You mention
Douglas fir, and I think that self-seeds also. They look quite like
spruces, so can be difficult to reliable identify a small plant without
cones or flowers.




--
echinosum