Is it safe to plan trees near a fence

2 years ago

Hi everyone - I hear that you shouldn't plant a tree close to a fence but I see it happening all the time. We are looking at Japanese Ivory Silk Lilac trees which is an ornamental tree that grows to 20 feet tall at maturity. Would this be a safe tree to plant 3 feet from a fence line? Is it 100% certain that it will eventually ruin the fence? I'm completely new to landscaping so just trying to learn best practices. Thanks.

Examples of people planting trees super close to their fence:

Japanese Lilac Tree that we would like to put 3 feet from our fence on mulch area:

Featured Answer

Kendrah

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

The mature spread of this tree is 10 - 15 feet. At 15 feet assume 7.5 feet of growth on either side of the trunk. If you plant 3 feet from your fence that means 4.5 feet of growth will go over your fence to what I assume is your neighbor's yard.

Do they want this tree in their yard? Do they want to clean up spent leaves and flowers? Are you ok with them trimming the side of your tree that extends on to their lot? I've had to pay a lot of money to have neighbor's trees trimmed that grew over our fence line. It did not make me happy. They should have purchased a much slower growing and more contained tree.

Measure the full width of any tree you want and plant far enough away from the fence so that all of the tree remains on your property.

Yes, the pic you posted is of a fence that was built well after the tree was there.

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Comments (6)

woodrose77
2 years ago
The fence in your first picture looks new, so I would guess the trees were already there before the fence was installed. I wouldn't plant a tree that can be 10-15 ft wide at maturity that close to a fence.Also, there are tree forms and shrub forms of this tree, so make sure you know which one you're getting.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
" Yes, the pic you posted is of a fence that was built well after the tree was there. "

And that tends to be the situation 75-80% of the time. The tree will preexist the fence.

I personally do not have an issue with a neighboring tree that slightly overhangs into my garden, although others must be very territorial and apparently do (I value the trees more than I do the neighbors :-)). The primary concern is that the tree does not encroach on the fence - this is not healthy for the tree nor is it good for the long term viability of the fence. Generally, the recommendation is to plant the tree not less than half the mature canopy spread away from any solid structures......like fences.
Paul Ramirez thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
KR Nuttle
2 years ago
If it is a building of any size, a house, stand alone garage, or permanent other building, half of the spread is to close. These numbers represent the average tree. That means the larges tree may be twice the spread, as trees never stop growing
pricklypearcactus
2 years ago
If you plant a large tree that will get a 20ft spread 3ft from the fenceline, that means that 7ft of the tree will be in your neighbors property. Now some neighbors might not mind and would be happy for this. Others may hate cleaning up the leaves and that it blocks out light from their flower / vegetable / whatever garden. If the tree is over the fenceline, the neighbor has the right too trim it which might mean they chop of 7ft of your tree so that it's not over the fence which is not going to be great physically for the tree or for the look of the tree. You should plant the tree further from the fence so that it will at least mostly stay in your property. Also, as already mentioned, the estimates are usually at a certain age and the tree may grow even larger than that.
dchall_san_antonio
2 years ago
Was there a lawn question?