The size would indicate it's older than 15 years. Where are you located as that will help narrow the species (b/c your photos aren't detailed enough for a definitive ID).

Thanks for responding. The tree could be as old as 20 years since that is the age of the neighborhood and older pictures of the area show it was not there. We are in the PNW (Vancouver, Washington). The lot was seriously overprinted with trees and served as a private park for a previous neighbor. There were three of these and one was removed as it was severely leaning toward the house next door trying to get sunlight. a second was removed as it too was leaning and planted to close to this tree.

It looks like it may be Shore Pine (Pinus contorta ssp. contorta)

the house was built within a few feet of the trunk? ... how long ago was this event?? .. ken

The trunk is about 7 feet from the house and the house was just completed. There were 5 or 6 branches removed to clear the house. I recall one root being disrupted during excavation. My DW would like to keep the tree but I need to call in an arborist to see if it can be pruned and kept. We have tight tree removal restrictions here and have to replace it with an "approved" tree.

how adaptable is to to pruning?

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step back.. and give us some pix of the whole tree ... and give us an idea of what your pruning goals might be..

and we can discuss it.. so you can have an informed discussion with the arborist ...

and i hope you know.. a dude with a chainsaw is not necessarily an arborist ... pay the few extra bucks to get a certified tree dude ... peace of mind usually cost a bit ....

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=asa+certified+tree+sugeon+Vancouver%2C+Washington&t=ffcm&ia=web

What are your specific goals with the pruning? Trying to make it narrower? You won't be able to cut it back very far and have it re-sprout much, if at all - figure that any interior branch sections that have shed all their needles at this point will not come back.

This is what is left of the tree. I would like to keep the tree pruned to its current size and possible reduce the height a bit. The tree looks better from the street side and I can deal with the lopsided look on the house side from an aesthetics standpoint. I know I will have to pay the price with roof/gutter cleaning but I have other trees around the house that will require and annual cleaning anyway.

I had our "chainsaw" guy remove 20 trees and this one was small compared to those but I want to find someone that is experienced with trimming pine trees for this one.

Height reduction generally has poor outcomes (aesthetically and culturally) and with pines, it is always a poor outcome due to the way pines (and most other conifers) grow.

Shore Pine is rarely a very tall or very big tree. Yours (looking at it now) will probably get to ~40' but will continue to grow wider.

I'd remove one more tier (maybe two tiers) of branches on the right side and leave it alone after that.

I agree w/Smivies -- height reduction is NOT a good idea. Maybe remove the one branch still nearly touching the roof. Otherwise, I think it looks pretty good.

And my best guess would also be shore (lodgepole) pine.

It's either shore pine (Pinus contorta var. contorta) OR lodgepole (Pinus contorta var. latifoia) but it can't be both simultaneously :-) Shore pine has a much narrower range and tends to be an overall smaller, shorter tree. Lodgepoles have a very wide range and can get to be enormous - 150' in the wild.

It's definitely a shore pine and - although this example appears to be small-growing there in that spot - the species is genetically programmed to grow much bigger than this one is now*. Otherwise if you cut much more of it away it will have become pretty much half of a tree at that point. Already - except for the overhanging blob at the top - it looks like a flag. So I would suggest cutting it down to the ground now and being done with the matter.

*The small heights repeatedly given in horticultural discussions of shore pine are presumably based on wild trees growing in particular conditions that limit growth. And not what is the norm for this tree, which in my area can sometimes even be seen growing nearly as tall as other native conifer species such as Douglas fir on the same (crowded) sites.

Here's some ~2005 height records from Jacobson, Trees of Seattle - Second Edition (2006):

Lincoln Park: 86 ft.

Kubota Garden Park: 81 1/2 ft.

U.W.: 62 ft.

46th Ave S & S Warsaw St: 65 ft.

after gathering all the facts .. imo ... fwiw .... i would be done with it ....

there is a very good chance. ... that it is dying .. in tree time .. due to construction stresses ... but in tree time.. it could be a decade before such happens ...

i do understand.. that you are dealing with she who must be obeyed ... so you will do.. what need be done.. in that regard ...

good luck

ken

ps: ... are the rocks opposite the tree from the house.. pre existing???

Yep, the very large rocks were there since before the trees were planted. This area is full of them and some are truly the size of a small car.

Thanks to all for your input. If the tree shows a slow demise, I won't have to go to battle. Or perhaps the mess (cones and needles) of the tree will aiding that discussion . =)