I took a couple 20 foot junipers down with cheap bow saw this weekend. I don't know if that is possible in your situation of course.

The tree itself has HIGHLY flammable foliage that will easily catch fire without the addition of accelerants but do you really want to set this thing of fire right next to your house???

Easiest way to kill a juniper is to girdle it down low with some type of manual saw. Saw into the trunk a quarter to half inch in a complete circle and it will die very quickly.

AndyT38 - can you show us a picture of the tree? In the UK I rather doubt it is a juniper. The likeliest candidate is Cupressus x leylandii - our number one neighbour annoying tree.

Certainly the petrol trick would be a disaster - dangerous and ineffective. If it is 20 feet tall you should be able to cut it down with a bow saw, as jOnd03 suggests. Don't try to do it with a woodwork saw and don't play with hired chainsaws unless you have had training. Take it down in sections.

Thanks for the replies. Yes you're probably right that burning it isn't the most sensible option. Floral_uk yes it could be Cupressus x leylandii, I have added a picture. If I use a bow saw as suggested, how do I ensure the tree doesn't do damage when it falls? and also that would still leave me with the stump and roots so how would I get rid of those?

Well - I'm not a conifer expert at all so the id is not certain. To avoid damage take it down bit by bit. You'll be left with a stump but conifers like this don't usually shoot from the stump so it's unlikely to regrow.

Seat? Bird table? Pot stand? Base for your little statue? (no work - no money) Dig it out ?(lots of work, no money) Hire a stump grinding service ? (no work, lots of money)

Ok, Thanks. The only problem with cutting it down bit by bit is that I don't have a ladder so it's not going to be easy. I'm guessing by your advice that there's no possible way to somehow destroy or dissolve the stump and roots? I had hoped that there might have been a product on the market (perhaps I've been watching too much tv and seeing bodies disolved in baths of acid, lol).

That's a little tree.

The "difficult" part will be cutting it and pulling on it right to keep it from falling into house or porch.

Far as what to do with the trunk, that left, easy. Dig some soil away from it then assault it with a good zawzall or a chainsaw with a blade you don't mind getting some dirt on.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: sawzall on google

When you cut a skinny little tree like this, you might consider having someone pull on it with a stout line of rope to get it to fall in a good direction. With several ropes you could prevent it from falling in an unfortunate direction.

Cut it high at a comfortable level to get the bulk of it down. Three or five feet or such.

Then cut the stump as low to the ground as you can, perhaps even digging around the base. To kill and rot the remaining stump and roots, cover it heavily with something high in nitrogen, such as urea or fresh manure, and cap it all with a mound of any sort of dirt that you keep from fully drying out. It will go away, perhaps in only a year or two, and pass from the memory of man.

To make the tree fall in the direction you desire, cut a wedge about 1/3 of the way through the tree on the side you want the tree to fall. Knock the wedge out then make the felling cut from behind the tree and it should fall directly facing your wedge cut. For added success, you could tie a rope on the wedge side after cutting and removing the wedge.

I would chop the whole thing down then cut it into pieces for easier transplanting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wedge cut

We can't see AndyT38's plot in the photo but it is possible that he doesn't have space to allow a 20 foot tree to drop in one piece. British gardens can very small. He says there is no rear access to the back garden so I suspect we are looking at the garden of a smallish terraced house.

If floral is correct about it being a small lot, then I agree the tree should be removed in sections. The easiest way to cut a tree like that into sections is to first remove all the branches where the cuts will be made. You can then use the wedge method I mentioned earlier 2-3x or as many times as necessary starting at the top and working your way down. This would require you to be standing on a ladder or other elevated stand while using the bow saw. This is obviously not as safe as using it on the ground so you have to make the call whether or not you feel comfortable doing this.

get some estimates for removal ... i never met a tree guy who couldnt get stuff out of a yard ...

no petrol .. crikey man ... you will set half the state on fire ... and your house ... this thing is dry inside.. it will go up like a roman candle and set embers that will float for a mile ....

stumps rot .. it takes years .. no magical wand stuff to make it happen faster .. and i think this tree is the type of wood.. cedar like.. that could take a decade to rot ...

though i am accused of being the cheapest man on earth.. thank you children.. lol... there are certain jobs where checkbook gardening matters... this sounds like one .. and its only going to get bigger and more expensive.. the longer you wait ... and to save money.. just have the stump cut flush to the ground ...

you do not sound experienced enough to do this yourself ...

ken

You're correct, it's not a huge garden but there are a couple of bigger trees at the bottom of the garden so if I cut it in one and get it to fall in the right direction it'll fall into those trees. It's not a terraced house, it's a semi, but both the neighbours and I have garages built on the side which has blocked off any access to the back of the house, the only way to remove anything of large size would be to take it over the top of the garage roof I guess, but if it was cut into smaller sections then it could be taken through the house providing it wouldn't make much mess. If I was to get a professional to do the job as suggested, what sort of price would I be looking at paying? I am in the UK by the way.

No way of saying how much it would be. You need to get estimates.

Looks like an Italian Cypress. Break out the petrol and post the video :-)

Ellwood cypress.

Being female, over 50, rather cheap and having already removed many many trees by myself, here is what I would do.

#1 ask around and see if you have a friend or neighbor willing to loan you a ladder and a lopper. If they had some spare trash cans this would be a plus as well.

I would use the loppers at the point closest to the maximum diameter the loppers can cut safely while you are on the ladder (have the friend help steady it). This should get the top of the tree down. If the tree is taller and thicker than you can cut with the loppers, move to the next step.

Next, I would use the loppers to remove all the branches you can reach for the next section, once again safely with some one steadying the ladder. This should leave you a rather odd looking main truck that you can now use the bow saw to cut off in safe sections removing the branches as you go

The branches could be cut up and used as mulch or put in those trashcans to transport through the house.

Once you only have a stump left, you could put a level line on it and cut there and use as "decor" or start digging out roots. Trust me, "decor" starts looking pretty good about this point especially if you only have a bow saw.

Over there there are products that will kill stumps or so they claim. Not sure what your options are over there, but that fresh cut will be sucking in any herbicide you might want to use. I would also wrap with a black plastic trash bag or two and try to seal it off from light and hope it dies rather than dig. I hesitate to use salt or vinegar because I do not want to ruin the soil too.

Using gas and a match will probably land you on the front page of a few news stories...............