Should I remove newly planted trees that everyone hates?
Friends and family often pressure gardeners to pull out newly planted trees over fears about tight spacing and future appearance, leading to severe doubt and second-guessing. This constant criticism makes people feel like they made a logical mistake and pushes them to rip out or relocate the plants prematurely out of fear of future regret.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Should I remove newly planted trees that everyone hates?
- 1removing them early before they matureDid this help you?
- 2cutting out windows and doorways as they growDid this help you?
- 3ignoring relatives and keeping them for privacyDid this help you?
- 4Yanking out the mature shrub and buying a new replacement plantDid this help you?
- 5Digging up and moving the bushes to another part of the yard during cooler monthsDid this help you?
- 6Consulting a professional arborist to guide long-term maintenance and avoid replacement costs.Did this help you?
- 7Trim the tree back heavily instead of doing a full removalDid this help you?
- 8Evaluate the view from inside the room before decidingDid this help you?
- 9Plant a replacement shrub or privacy screen further out before cutting the mature treeDid this help you?
- 10Moving or transplanting the tree while it is still small enough to be manageable.Did this help you?
- 11Removing the tree before the root system wrecks the surrounding brick or hardscape.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“about 2 months ago i planted 56 cypresses (54 italian, 2 lemon) (2 lemon cypresses already died) around my space. they are between 2.7 feet apart.”source ↗
“all friends and family are telling my i have made a horrible mistake, i like to disagree with them but inside i feel like logically i did make a mistake.”source ↗
“right now im deciding with family that the best decision to make is to remove them before “i regret them” years later.”source ↗
“Hello, I have a tree in my front yard that has been causing me issues and I have to pay to constantly maintain it.”source ↗
“I don't know if I should remove the tree completely and replace it with a tree that grows slow or if I should pay to get it trimmed well.”source ↗
“If I do get it replaced with another tree what tree would I get? I don't know anything about trees and I feel this option would be very expensive.”source ↗
“I cut all the trees in front of my window and a few years now I wish I hadn’t.”source ↗
“I don’t like where the bush next to my door is located. I like the bush, just not where it’s at. Do you think it’s possible to relocate the bush elsewhere or should I just pull it out?”source ↗
“Either way between king and queen, can anyone confirm they really don’t need a lot of space for roots?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Should I save or replace a damaged tree?
- 2Should I cut down overgrown foundation bushes?
- 10How to kill volunteer trees near a house without herbicides
- 7Why is my newly transplanted tree dying after moving from a pot?
- 3Should I tear out old plaster or put drywall over it?
- 11How to fix sunken ground from decaying tree roots without excavating