Sycamore tree on boundary

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AWinter

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I'm unfortunately having to look for a new place to rent for my horses, it is proving to be extremely difficult and one of the only options I have on the table at the moment is 2 acres with a very large sycamore tree behind the hedge on the roadside so I guess it would be council property. It is right in the middle of a very picturesque village where I imagine they are very attached to their trees so I don't think they would be happy with us wanting to chop it down.

Does anyone cope with a tree right on their land like this? There is nowhere to get away from it, the seeds travel and travel. I guess I already know the answer but I'm in really dire straights right now and this may be my only option temporarily.
 
We have sycamores in a neighbour's garden. They are not bordering the croft as such but the seeds do travel. We just have to be vigilant when it comes to the seedlings.
Last year seemed to be a bumper year for sycamore seeds and there were a fair number of seedlings to pull out - however, we did manage it. In previous years it's not been anything like as bad.
The problem is that sycamores are so incredibly common it would be pretty much impossible for us to find anywhere around here that didn't have a sycamore within 100 yards!
 
Consider the prevailing wind direction - will that sycamore blow most its seeds directly across the 2 acres, or in another direction?

It’s the difference between the field being useless to graze during spring due to baby trees emerging all over it, or you may just have the nearest side to fence off while you pull emerging seed shoots, and it being ‘manageable’.
 
PurBee said:
Consider the prevailing wind direction - will that sycamore blow most its seeds directly across the 2 acres, or in another direction?

It’s the difference between the field being useless to graze during spring due to baby trees emerging all over it, or you may just have the nearest side to fence off while you pull emerging seed shoots, and it being ‘manageable’.
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Really good point, genuinely how do I find that out? I just feel a bit hopeless as the place I'm at now has sycamore trees much further away on the property but the wind blows 100s of seeds straight up onto us every autumn, hate the things.
 
Look at climate websites for your area. If you can check prevailing winds seasonally that would be useful. Especially during sept/oct/nov time when the seeds are being blown off.
Here for Ireland the prevailing wind is 90% of the year from a south-westerly direction. Especially during autumn wind storms when leaf/seed drop is happening.
The south west of the uk will likely have similar prevailing wind direction too as Ireland.

But north UK will likely be affected by the polar vortex weather currents more, so the prevailing wind direction could be different.
If unsure ask locals, local farmers that live by the 2 acres, they should know more accurately than websites.
 
Here’s a funny tale. When I moved to this sycamore-free land, I had unwittingly brought a sycamore seedling with me in a bay tree pot plant.
I wasn’t sure back then if it was maple or sycamore, and planted out into the grow area. This was before I got horses here - I didn’t know about sycamore seeds toxic to horses back then!
This bloody sycamore has grown very well hasn’t it! Many gorgeous trees I’ve planted here have failed, but that damn sycamore has thrived!
When I found out about sycamore seed toxicity when the horses arrived, I hastily made my way to it and chopped it back to within an inch of its life! It has sent sprouts out yearly which I chop back. It now resembles a bonsai sycamore, it’s never gone to seed. 😂
When I sell the land I’ll likely fell it completely and grind the stump so it doesn’t take over and create a grazing nightmare for future occupants who may or may not know of its toxicity!
 
Maybe ask the landowner if they are interested in chopping it down? A lot of non horsey people don’t like them so it’s worth a try?
 
There is one at the bottom of our field. I am not sure who it belongs to, it might be ours, or it might be our neighbour's. It's a very large tree and does provide shade so I would be reluctant to cut it down. This is why you will see me out there most days in Spring, picking up seedlings. Some years are definitely worse than others but most years it's manageable.
 
I have one on my boundary. I have fenced off the worst affected area and this means that I can't use about 1/2 an acre of the land I rent. I spend hours picking up the seeds and so don't have many seedlings to deal with. I make sure the bit where seeds can fall is short grazed by October so I can find the seeds easily. I put the horses in the bit furthest away from the tree when the seeds are falling. A lot of work but no trouble so far and we've been here 6 years.
 
There are 2 on the boundary of my smaller paddock only they're in a conservation area and can't be felled. I fence off an area around them as 2 of my horses are leaf eaters and I try and rake up any seeds that fall then when the seedlings start sprout I move the horses into my other field whilst I pull up any I can find.

Typically before I rented my yard I checked every tree on the boundary to see whether it was horse safe but had to leave before I did the short side of the small field and guess where the sycamores are? I would probably have still rented though as I have the most amazing hacking so it's worth the few weeks of seedling hunting.
 
GypsGal1718 said:
Maybe ask the landowner if they are interested in chopping it down? A lot of non horsey people don’t like them so it’s worth a try?
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A very large tree on a village location is quite likely to have a TPO and/or a lot of local people who love it. I have a lot of Sycamores down the road, last year was a massive problem with seedlings, which also tested very toxic, but in the decade I've been there, we've never had an issue before. It's less of an issue to me than the Oaks in the hedgeline. No where is perfect, if it's a good field with access and hacking, I'd definitely go for it.
 
AWinter said:
Really good point, genuinely how do I find that out? I just feel a bit hopeless as the place I'm at now has sycamore trees much further away on the property but the wind blows 100s of seeds straight up onto us every autumn, hate the things.
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If you work out where the sycamore trees in your current place are in relation to the field, you will know where the wind is coming from every autumn!

In most areas of the UK the prevailing wind is from the west. Most autumn and winter storms are from the west, some from the east or north though. But as Purbee says, not everywhere.

You may already know this, but for those who don’t:
First find out where north, east, south and west is for the field: either go to the field with a compass, or compass app on phone, or look at a (detailed OS) map which will have North at the top. Work out where your tree is on the map. If it is on the Western boundary, seeds will be blown from west to east ie into the field.
A memory aid for remembering which side is East and which West in relation to North, is (going clockwise, with North at the top), Never Eat Shredded Wheat (north east south west).
 
If it ticks all the other boxes and you are in dire straits, I’d probably go for it and see what it’s like in spring. Might just mean raking up seeds while you poo pick, pulling out the seedlings and/or fencing a bit off for part of the year. If you’ve got the time, or you could pay someone to help (might be teens on the village looking for pocket money) then I’d give it a go.
 
PurBee said:
Here’s a funny tale. When I moved to this sycamore-free land, I had unwittingly brought a sycamore seedling with me in a bay tree pot plant.
I wasn’t sure back then if it was maple or sycamore, and planted out into the grow area. This was before I got horses here - I didn’t know about sycamore seeds toxic to horses back then!
This bloody sycamore has grown very well hasn’t it! Many gorgeous trees I’ve planted here have failed, but that damn sycamore has thrived!
When I found out about sycamore seed toxicity when the horses arrived, I hastily made my way to it and chopped it back to within an inch of its life! It has sent sprouts out yearly which I chop back. It now resembles a bonsai sycamore, it’s never gone to seed. 😂
When I sell the land I’ll likely fell it completely and grind the stump so it doesn’t take over and create a grazing nightmare for future occupants who may or may not know of its toxicity!
Click to expand...
Well, sycamores are basically tall weeds!
Bloody things sprout everywhere given the slightest chance, will crowd out other types of tree and are well known for it within woodland.
In your shoes, being aware of the issue, I’d kill it now because the longer established the roots, the more difficult to permanently exterminate.
Having said which, equines and sycamores have coexisted fairly successfully out of memory - before the knowledge about toxicity. Given that understanding, take evasive action.
Tbh, when the Sycamore Gap Chain Saw Massacre story first emerged, we didn’t realise the iconic location, and OH immediately said - ‘that’ll be one of these horse people’.....!😕
 
I have sycamore trees all along all my boundaries. In 30 years we’ve never had any problems although I have started mowing them in the last five years. There’s no way the landowner would chop them down so I just deal with them each year. I know I will never get every seedling but I do my best. If the grazing suits, I would just go for it and mow under the trees in autumn and spring.
 
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