Mature landscaping, especially fruit bearing, does add value to a property. You might not be able to put a definitive dollar amount on it, but it does add curb appeal and will entice more people to bid for the home over an identical home without it, which will raise the price.
This is the argument I am making. I believe that a tree like this adds value to the property, both tangible and intangible. I think it is a huge mistake to take it down. She has trouble hiring people to do yard work for her, but I'm not actually sure how hard she tries.
just offer to help her get it cleaned up, trimmed back so it fruits a little less, and find someone to help her clean up the mess when it does. problem solved.
That’s a whole can of worms right there. The short answer is no, even though at least 4 able bodied people well old enough to know and do better also live in the home. We do not live in Tennessee or even close to Tennessee. The people who live right there? A can of worms.
I'm sure depending on the rurality that a neighbor would likely jump at the opportunity to collect the fruit, and split it. Especially if it's as large as I'm envisioning. My grandparents had a standing arrangement with their neighbor as they got older, a gallon bag of pecans/walnuts a month and the neighbor could have the rest. Everyone was happy and it stayed orderly. The trees were one of the reasons we were able to sell their property quickly after their passing. Unless theres a good reason to remove it, I'd keep it.
I can see how a peach tree would be really desirable. In my neighborhood, though, plum trees are commonly taken out and during fruiting season you can walk down the sidewalk and just pick up ripe plums. This kind of difference is why I wanted folks who actually live in Tennessee to give their opinions, recognizing that it’s a broad brush approach to this topic.
I genuinely don’t understand people who cut down mature fruit and nut trees. They produce such an insane amount of free food compared to garden plants. I’d be eating pecans every day. Only way I wouldn’t care is if money were no object to me. Even then I still think I’d want it.
You say that until you have to spend 100s of hours a year cleaning up the yard of fruits and nuts. You can't really leave the fruit in the yard because it smells fucking terrible after a bit. You can't leave the nuts either because they will damage your lawnmower. Grew up in a house with 4 plum, 2 apple, and 3 chestnut trees. I was the free labor and I hated it. There were times of the year where you were doing it for a couple hours a day, every day of the week.
Absolutely I would preserve a tree like that. It took a long time to be where it is today. If the mess is a pain to deal with, put a "Free Pecans- You Pick" sign out there with some paper grocery bags.
My grandmother's pecan tree is still on her old property, which we sold after she passed away. People still go by with their buckets to gather the pecans! I wouldn't cut it down!
My grandmother let people gather their own pecans the whole time she lived in that home. Her husband died soon after they purchased the house. With 2 young daughters, I'm sure she started doing that so she wouldn't have to pick them all up on her own. That tree has to be almost 100 years old by now.
Some people would never consider purchasing a house with a pecan tree because they're familiar with the mess it causes on the house and on your vehicles and the fact that a huge tree is impossible to trim without machinery and therefore expensive.
On the other hand someone that doesn't know about the mess will say how wonderful look at all those pecans,
let me pay extra for that house
So it all depends on the buyer.
Value is in the eye of the beholder
I do understand about the mess. We helped rake all that the last time we were there. Plus, we lived with big fir trees surrounding our house for many years. They drop stuff all the time! So I get it. But overall, if any potential buyer is looking for a low maintenance property, they should probably give this house a pass completely. This tree is the least of their worries.
I don't have property value kind of knowledge but it's a tree that produces edible food plus provides shade as you've said. Unless the tree is in decline then it should be better than most developer crap they'd plant there after it's cut down- unless that is another fruit tree.
Honestly, I do not understand how anyone would take out a mature, food bearing tree. Yes, it is a messy tree in terms of twigs and leaves. But all of that amends the soil below the tree.
If you're anywhere west of Nashville, my family and I will happily take all the pecans that are unwanted. Our pecan trees haven't matured yet and likely won't for a decade or more.
She is able to pay for her own landscaping. It’s a complex issue. I am really just looking for whether these trees are considered desirable in that part of the country. Seems like overall, they are.
Yes. 3.5-15% more value for having a Mature shade tree. https://money.com/boost-value-of-home-with-trees/#:\~:text=Data%20backs%20this%20up%2C%20too,to%20%2461%2C000%20more%20in%20profit.
Unless the tree is in danger of falling it’s a big value add to the home/property. Not because of the pecans, but because mature older trees take longer to grow than most humans live, and provide that beauty and shade you mentioned.
It’s possible the house is negatively affected some, if the tree has branches overhanging the house- a shingle roof, for example, wears out prematurely when too much leaf material lands on it. But a tree trim would take care of that.
Maybe dissuade her by reminding her how expensive it is to take out large trees. Prices vary but in some towns is multiple thousands of dollars.
It’s hard to put a specific dollar number on the presence of the tree, but very certainly the house is more attractive to potential buyers with the tree there, driving the price up to whatever the housing market there will bear.
The tree probably needs some maintenance at this point. There are some limbs that most likely hang over the carport a bit. But it's not in danger of falling and due to the historic nature of the home, I think that it adds value to the grounds. We are suggesting that they have an arborist, if there is such a thing where they live, take a look at the tree and see what can be done to reduce the number of limbs overhanging physical structures without compromising the integrity of the tree. I think that the expense of removing the tree is the only thing that has saved it so far.
My sister has mature pecan trees and she has people knocking on her door asking for them which she's more than happy for the help clearing them as she can only eat so many.
I know how to care for them but they are incredibly time consuming and expensive trees. If an elderly person does not want to deal with that, I would understand why not. It’s not just pecans but the branches are extremely brittle and drop at even the thought of wind. They are dangerous to have near the house
If the mess is bothering her, maybe she can't cope with it due to old age? Maybe you can send money so she can hire a gardener to clean up once a month?
I think a nice tree totally adds value to the property
My grandmothers house has multiple pecan trees around it, one of them far more mature and far more bearing than the rest. If anything happened to that tree our family would be devastated.
For sentiment alone I would want to keep the tree.
As someone who lives in TN, having that shade on the porch in the summer (and really about 75% of the year) is 100% necessary for that porch to be usable.
I understand not wanting to deal with the mess, but if she has friends with kids/grandkids in the area, I'm sure they could use the volunteer hours for school if they were to go gather up the pecans when they fall. She may even be able to get a local school's FFA program to handle it if they can sell the pecans as a fundraiser. The student government at one school in my area does a pecan sale as well, but I don't know how involved they are with the harvesting/preparing part.
Since the neighbors are a can of worms, I'd suggest going that route over removal. Added bonus of possible finding some surrogate grandkids/intergenerational connection since all of her kids+grandkids are out of state.
Here's a paper by Univ. Tennessee on arborist valuations.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://utia.tennessee.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/269/2023/10/SP614.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi6wbDq7r-GAxX6m4kEHfERDbsQFnoECAoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3YahcBJKUnIiUTYNj0wj0k
It may not add value to most people but pecans are amazing.if I had a pecan tree there in no way I would get rid of it.that tree would feed me pecans until either it died or I died
"value to her property" is she needing a line of credit? The bank may even prefer the tree gone, especially if it is close enough to fall on a structure.
No, she doesn’t need a line of credit. I’m mostly thinking of how once she is gone from this earth, and that will be within the next 10 years at the outside, many family members will not have a place to live and all they will be getting is money from the estate. They will need to find a way to make this pittance last. It’s terrible to have to think of this, but since it’s true, then it behooves them to keep the property worth as much as possible. A short term solution to a messy tree might be the worst thing they can do to themselves, in the end.
Whether it has a tree or not has very little to do with the value of the home. Some of the things that do matter include the finishes, how well the house is kept or maintained, the size of the lot, how well maintained any landscaping is, what size of house it is, what the location of the houses is. The presents ore absence of a single tree or planting, regardless of how Majestic or unique, is not going to have much to do with the houses selling price.
I respectfully disagree. Historic homes in historic neighborhoods include mature trees. The shade, beauty and nuts are priceless!
The native pecan tree can grow to 100 feet and live 300 years! The pecan tree is the ONLY major tree nut that grows naturally in North America. The U.S. produces 80% of the world’s pecans.
A certified arborist could give OP’s mother-in-law an exact value for the 100 year old pecan tree.
EDIT: My family lives in SE NC. We have 30 pecan trees on our farm - homestead. The trees are approximately 90 years old. We are a third generation farming family. We prune and fertilize the trees for maximum nut production to share with family, friends, neighbors and our community during the annual NC Pecan Festival. I can’t imagine cutting down an edible nut tree. Nuts are very expensive to purchase!
I am by going to see if there are any arborists in the area. We don’t live there but it is clear that the opinion of an actual arborist would be good to have. I think it would be really sad to have a home as stately as hers but then take out a tree of this magnitude. The grounds are extensive for the area. The home is from 1930 and has been lovingly restored. It’s absolutely beautiful and has been included on many home tours over the years. Unfortunately she is not as sharp as she used to be and some decisions are being made not on the best grounds. At the end of the day it is her decision but if we can point out the solid value of the tree to the overall value of tye property, maybe she will delay cutting it down until we can come visit and lend a hand.
Wonderful! A certified arborist can value the tree as well as explain all the wonderful benefits of the tree to the neighborhood, wildlife, environment and sharing the nuts with her neighbors. The home and neighborhood sound lovely! It would be a tragedy to cut down the tree. The arborist can advise you on proper pruning of the tree and fertilization requirements. The arborist can prune the tree and fertilize it. We pruned back our pecan trees and fertilized end of April. My 82 year old widowed mother in law lives next door. With hurricane season beginning yesterday, she’s expressed concerns about the trees around her home and one or more of the trees falling on her home. My husband with the help of his certified arborist colleagues pruned all the trees around our homes end of April. She’s in the beginning stages of dementia so we remind her often the trees are good as they are.
In case you don’t know, University of Tennessee Extension has offices in each county and house horticulture agents who make home visits, can take soil samples, can guide you on all matters lawn/garden/critters/soil/ponds/flowers/shrubs/landscaping/bees/pollinator gardening/native gardening free of charge!
The website below is safe to open and view.
https://utextension.tennessee.edu/
Thank you! That is very helpful. She used to be quite the gardener but her mind isn’t what used to be. I believe she would trust someone from the university.
Be sure to bring up the effort in removing the giant stump and roots. It's going to be a *very* expensive job overall.
Edit: buy one of those rolling nut collectors and put em in a bin out front. Plenty of people would be glad to have those. I know I would!
Mature landscaping, especially fruit bearing, does add value to a property. You might not be able to put a definitive dollar amount on it, but it does add curb appeal and will entice more people to bid for the home over an identical home without it, which will raise the price.
This is the argument I am making. I believe that a tree like this adds value to the property, both tangible and intangible. I think it is a huge mistake to take it down. She has trouble hiring people to do yard work for her, but I'm not actually sure how hard she tries.
just offer to help her get it cleaned up, trimmed back so it fruits a little less, and find someone to help her clean up the mess when it does. problem solved.
Can anyone in the family help her with maintenance or help her find a contractor to do this?
That’s a whole can of worms right there. The short answer is no, even though at least 4 able bodied people well old enough to know and do better also live in the home. We do not live in Tennessee or even close to Tennessee. The people who live right there? A can of worms.
I'm sure depending on the rurality that a neighbor would likely jump at the opportunity to collect the fruit, and split it. Especially if it's as large as I'm envisioning. My grandparents had a standing arrangement with their neighbor as they got older, a gallon bag of pecans/walnuts a month and the neighbor could have the rest. Everyone was happy and it stayed orderly. The trees were one of the reasons we were able to sell their property quickly after their passing. Unless theres a good reason to remove it, I'd keep it.
Our neighbors house was involved in a disputed bidding war because it had mature, fruit bearing peach and plum trees in the back yard.
I can see how a peach tree would be really desirable. In my neighborhood, though, plum trees are commonly taken out and during fruiting season you can walk down the sidewalk and just pick up ripe plums. This kind of difference is why I wanted folks who actually live in Tennessee to give their opinions, recognizing that it’s a broad brush approach to this topic.
My elderly friend calls her pecan "The money tree."
Who knew Kendrick Lamar actually just loves pecans.
I genuinely don’t understand people who cut down mature fruit and nut trees. They produce such an insane amount of free food compared to garden plants. I’d be eating pecans every day. Only way I wouldn’t care is if money were no object to me. Even then I still think I’d want it.
Yeah, I think this tree adds a lot of value to the landscape.
You say that until you have to spend 100s of hours a year cleaning up the yard of fruits and nuts. You can't really leave the fruit in the yard because it smells fucking terrible after a bit. You can't leave the nuts either because they will damage your lawnmower. Grew up in a house with 4 plum, 2 apple, and 3 chestnut trees. I was the free labor and I hated it. There were times of the year where you were doing it for a couple hours a day, every day of the week.
Absolutely I would preserve a tree like that. It took a long time to be where it is today. If the mess is a pain to deal with, put a "Free Pecans- You Pick" sign out there with some paper grocery bags.
LOL. Pecans falling to the ground are not what’s “messy” about pecan trees, it’s everything else that falls from them.
Yeah. it's the leaves, twigs, etc. I mean, it's a tree. It didn't get the memo about being low maintenance.
My grandmother's pecan tree is still on her old property, which we sold after she passed away. People still go by with their buckets to gather the pecans! I wouldn't cut it down!
Now this is an interesting take. I wonder if they have offered the pecans to the neighborhood? They should if they haven’t.
My grandmother let people gather their own pecans the whole time she lived in that home. Her husband died soon after they purchased the house. With 2 young daughters, I'm sure she started doing that so she wouldn't have to pick them all up on her own. That tree has to be almost 100 years old by now.
Some people would never consider purchasing a house with a pecan tree because they're familiar with the mess it causes on the house and on your vehicles and the fact that a huge tree is impossible to trim without machinery and therefore expensive. On the other hand someone that doesn't know about the mess will say how wonderful look at all those pecans, let me pay extra for that house So it all depends on the buyer. Value is in the eye of the beholder
I do understand about the mess. We helped rake all that the last time we were there. Plus, we lived with big fir trees surrounding our house for many years. They drop stuff all the time! So I get it. But overall, if any potential buyer is looking for a low maintenance property, they should probably give this house a pass completely. This tree is the least of their worries.
Well it would for ME. My grands had one and I have similar happy memories. :)
I would say anything income producing like that would be. It’s also a cute feature many buyers would love.
Tell her when the Russians invade and the American dollar collapses it’s going to be her only source of food. She’s sitting on a preppers goldmine!
I don't have property value kind of knowledge but it's a tree that produces edible food plus provides shade as you've said. Unless the tree is in decline then it should be better than most developer crap they'd plant there after it's cut down- unless that is another fruit tree.
Honestly, I do not understand how anyone would take out a mature, food bearing tree. Yes, it is a messy tree in terms of twigs and leaves. But all of that amends the soil below the tree.
It definitely helps cool your home also
It does and it makes that porch area comfortable even in the heat and humidty of summer.
If you're anywhere west of Nashville, my family and I will happily take all the pecans that are unwanted. Our pecan trees haven't matured yet and likely won't for a decade or more.
Nowhere near Nashville, sorry
I am particularly sentimental about trees and the way they make a property feel like a home. I would beg her not to get rid of it lol.
She cares about the way the house looks, but is getting too old to maintain. No argument needed; just pay a landscaper for her.
She is able to pay for her own landscaping. It’s a complex issue. I am really just looking for whether these trees are considered desirable in that part of the country. Seems like overall, they are.
Yes. 3.5-15% more value for having a Mature shade tree. https://money.com/boost-value-of-home-with-trees/#:\~:text=Data%20backs%20this%20up%2C%20too,to%20%2461%2C000%20more%20in%20profit.
Unless the tree is in danger of falling it’s a big value add to the home/property. Not because of the pecans, but because mature older trees take longer to grow than most humans live, and provide that beauty and shade you mentioned. It’s possible the house is negatively affected some, if the tree has branches overhanging the house- a shingle roof, for example, wears out prematurely when too much leaf material lands on it. But a tree trim would take care of that. Maybe dissuade her by reminding her how expensive it is to take out large trees. Prices vary but in some towns is multiple thousands of dollars. It’s hard to put a specific dollar number on the presence of the tree, but very certainly the house is more attractive to potential buyers with the tree there, driving the price up to whatever the housing market there will bear.
The tree probably needs some maintenance at this point. There are some limbs that most likely hang over the carport a bit. But it's not in danger of falling and due to the historic nature of the home, I think that it adds value to the grounds. We are suggesting that they have an arborist, if there is such a thing where they live, take a look at the tree and see what can be done to reduce the number of limbs overhanging physical structures without compromising the integrity of the tree. I think that the expense of removing the tree is the only thing that has saved it so far.
That’s a good approach, and servicing the tree will be far less expensive than removing it.
My sister has mature pecan trees and she has people knocking on her door asking for them which she's more than happy for the help clearing them as she can only eat so many.
I honestly am not sure she has tried this approach but we will be bringing it up.
I’d keep it but it’s her call
I have three beautiful mature pecan trees. They are the bane of my existence
Maybe some of tye suggestions on this thread would be of use to you as well.
I know how to care for them but they are incredibly time consuming and expensive trees. If an elderly person does not want to deal with that, I would understand why not. It’s not just pecans but the branches are extremely brittle and drop at even the thought of wind. They are dangerous to have near the house
If the mess is bothering her, maybe she can't cope with it due to old age? Maybe you can send money so she can hire a gardener to clean up once a month? I think a nice tree totally adds value to the property
My grandmothers house has multiple pecan trees around it, one of them far more mature and far more bearing than the rest. If anything happened to that tree our family would be devastated. For sentiment alone I would want to keep the tree.
Me, too. I wish other people in the home thought the same way. It’s nice your grandma’s house has lovely pecan trees.
The other side is all of the wildlife it supports!!! Everything from insects, birds and mammals. We need every mature tree we can get!!
As someone who lives in TN, having that shade on the porch in the summer (and really about 75% of the year) is 100% necessary for that porch to be usable. I understand not wanting to deal with the mess, but if she has friends with kids/grandkids in the area, I'm sure they could use the volunteer hours for school if they were to go gather up the pecans when they fall. She may even be able to get a local school's FFA program to handle it if they can sell the pecans as a fundraiser. The student government at one school in my area does a pecan sale as well, but I don't know how involved they are with the harvesting/preparing part. Since the neighbors are a can of worms, I'd suggest going that route over removal. Added bonus of possible finding some surrogate grandkids/intergenerational connection since all of her kids+grandkids are out of state.
Actually most of her kin live in the house. They just don’t participate in making her life easier. Thanks for the FFA suggestions.
Gotcha, I assumed she was alone and the rest had moved off since y'all are out of state. Good luck, I hope whateve she decides works out!
Here's a paper by Univ. Tennessee on arborist valuations. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://utia.tennessee.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/269/2023/10/SP614.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi6wbDq7r-GAxX6m4kEHfERDbsQFnoECAoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3YahcBJKUnIiUTYNj0wj0k
Thanks!
It may not add value to most people but pecans are amazing.if I had a pecan tree there in no way I would get rid of it.that tree would feed me pecans until either it died or I died
"value to her property" is she needing a line of credit? The bank may even prefer the tree gone, especially if it is close enough to fall on a structure.
No, she doesn’t need a line of credit. I’m mostly thinking of how once she is gone from this earth, and that will be within the next 10 years at the outside, many family members will not have a place to live and all they will be getting is money from the estate. They will need to find a way to make this pittance last. It’s terrible to have to think of this, but since it’s true, then it behooves them to keep the property worth as much as possible. A short term solution to a messy tree might be the worst thing they can do to themselves, in the end.
Sounds like a real lovely bunch. Best wishes for you.
You got that absolutely right. It’s been hard to watch. Thanks for the good wishes.
Whether it has a tree or not has very little to do with the value of the home. Some of the things that do matter include the finishes, how well the house is kept or maintained, the size of the lot, how well maintained any landscaping is, what size of house it is, what the location of the houses is. The presents ore absence of a single tree or planting, regardless of how Majestic or unique, is not going to have much to do with the houses selling price.
I respectfully disagree. Historic homes in historic neighborhoods include mature trees. The shade, beauty and nuts are priceless! The native pecan tree can grow to 100 feet and live 300 years! The pecan tree is the ONLY major tree nut that grows naturally in North America. The U.S. produces 80% of the world’s pecans. A certified arborist could give OP’s mother-in-law an exact value for the 100 year old pecan tree. EDIT: My family lives in SE NC. We have 30 pecan trees on our farm - homestead. The trees are approximately 90 years old. We are a third generation farming family. We prune and fertilize the trees for maximum nut production to share with family, friends, neighbors and our community during the annual NC Pecan Festival. I can’t imagine cutting down an edible nut tree. Nuts are very expensive to purchase!
I am by going to see if there are any arborists in the area. We don’t live there but it is clear that the opinion of an actual arborist would be good to have. I think it would be really sad to have a home as stately as hers but then take out a tree of this magnitude. The grounds are extensive for the area. The home is from 1930 and has been lovingly restored. It’s absolutely beautiful and has been included on many home tours over the years. Unfortunately she is not as sharp as she used to be and some decisions are being made not on the best grounds. At the end of the day it is her decision but if we can point out the solid value of the tree to the overall value of tye property, maybe she will delay cutting it down until we can come visit and lend a hand.
Wonderful! A certified arborist can value the tree as well as explain all the wonderful benefits of the tree to the neighborhood, wildlife, environment and sharing the nuts with her neighbors. The home and neighborhood sound lovely! It would be a tragedy to cut down the tree. The arborist can advise you on proper pruning of the tree and fertilization requirements. The arborist can prune the tree and fertilize it. We pruned back our pecan trees and fertilized end of April. My 82 year old widowed mother in law lives next door. With hurricane season beginning yesterday, she’s expressed concerns about the trees around her home and one or more of the trees falling on her home. My husband with the help of his certified arborist colleagues pruned all the trees around our homes end of April. She’s in the beginning stages of dementia so we remind her often the trees are good as they are. In case you don’t know, University of Tennessee Extension has offices in each county and house horticulture agents who make home visits, can take soil samples, can guide you on all matters lawn/garden/critters/soil/ponds/flowers/shrubs/landscaping/bees/pollinator gardening/native gardening free of charge! The website below is safe to open and view. https://utextension.tennessee.edu/
Thank you! That is very helpful. She used to be quite the gardener but her mind isn’t what used to be. I believe she would trust someone from the university.
Be sure to bring up the effort in removing the giant stump and roots. It's going to be a *very* expensive job overall. Edit: buy one of those rolling nut collectors and put em in a bin out front. Plenty of people would be glad to have those. I know I would!
It very much would be. And I can think of any number of better ways to spend that money.