Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

I may be entering enemy territory here but I have an "issue" regarding my neighbors invasive banana trees.

We put in (expensive) alluminum fencing 19 years ago. Approximately 8 years ago our next door neighbor planted a couple bannana trees about a foot out from the fence - those first little suckers have made like rabbits with trunk diameters exceeding 18 inches.

They long ago dislodged our fencing. We talked with him and he agreed to 'tie them back'... we didn't press on the fence damange. He said his trees couldn't have caused the fence problem. The trees continue to thrive and multiply and several times each years I remind him to tie back the trees. But by now it does nothing helpful.

Several years ago we asked permission (our expense-$200) to have a tree person come out and cut back the trees closest to our fence. Reluctantly he agreed. The tree guy suggested to him that he could take them up and relocate them away from the fence, neighbor refused, likes them as is. I then asked the neighbor to tie the trees together so that we might keep them off our fence. He agreed but has rarely followed through. We ourselves have tied them back but as they are so thick that it is useless. .

The fence problem also traveled down to another corner of our lot and now the gate cannot be latched - I have it TIED with rope - nice look, NOT!


Last year three trees sprouted in my flower bed. I cut them off and put Round-Up on them. Must liked the stuff as this year I have five.

Questions:
1. What can I put on the suckers, in my flower bed, that will kill them?

2. What type of barrier can be put in the soil, at the time of the new fence installation to be a permanent barrier of those roots and new shoots? Anything?? Suggestions please.

I am an avid gardener with a yard full of flowers, herbs, butterflies. I appreciate that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, good fences are making for bad neighboring.

Oh, one other thing, while we were away he cut back and then poisoned a purple salvia that was said to be 'growing through my side of the fence.' For the third year his fruit cluster fell in our yard. Again we cut it off, cleaned it up and quietly laid the cluster at his front door.

The neighbors on the other side have reported him FOR YEARS to our home owners association to no avail. He is getting quite elderly but is physically healthy, mows his yard (occasionally, for real). He has no friends, his daughter is powerless to get him to do right, she apologizes to us. We have been good neighbors to him but my patience has run dry. I would he has a good 20 years on me but I swear he is going to outlive me and so are those *&^% bananna trees!

Please see 2 questions above, thank you for taking the time to read through my RANT!

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Root Barriers And Biobarriers. You can sever suckers at their base as soon as possible after emergence. Scoop out a hollow and fill the cavity with kerosene to kill the bud. Biobarrier - Guaranteed Protection Against Root Damage

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

I seriously doubt that anything short of removing the plants that are close to the fence will help with your issue. Banana corms are very strong and will move wood or aluminum fences out of their way. You could dig down a make a thick concrete barrier.

I have to say that's pretty nice of you to bring him his fruit while this is going on. I know a lot of people here on this board would love to have a neighbor like you. :)

Good luck!

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Or you can give some to us!! :D Id be happy to take few off your hands, as many you want gone :)


yes Root Barriers And Biobarriers seem like a good idea.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Wow, that's pretty cool stuff Tony. You think it could stop a corm from pushing it out of the way? It sounds like it will stop roots, but you know how strong corms can push against things.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Mitchel has a point. The strong corm growth can cause fence damage despite a barrier on your side of the fence. Personally, I think your neighbor is a #$%&*%& @##&@%$ but that's just my opinion (hope we never have a neighbor like that). Since the Bleep allowed you to have a tree person remove trees close to the fence, maybe he'd reluctantly agree to let someone put the root barrier on his side of the fence. That would help.
I grow timber bamboo But I installed a fool-proof, $1,500 Moso-rated 6-mil high-density polyurethane barrier, extending 3 feet into the ground, before I started. It's only common courtesy to consider neighbors first.
Youre an incredibly nice person to be handling it the way you have.... I wouldn't have been. Dont know much about weed killers & stuff but I wish you the best of luck :).

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

I don't know if it would stop a corm but it should slow it down some. When ever we planted street trees within 15' or so of any hardscape this is what was used. It's either this or a heavy duty concrete wall.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

These will do the job.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

This is one of the products we use to keep roots from damaging septic tank drain fields.
Please don't use where water run off will enter streams or estuaries as it is also toxic to fish and marine systems.
Biobarrier - Guaranteed Protection Against Root Damage

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

I'm going to take a container with 2 gallons of water and add 1 ounce of Glyphosate oil (50% concentrate) and 1 ounce of Ortho Brush-B-Gone (also sold as Ortho poison oak killer). This solution I will spray on any untended sprout entering my yard. It might also kill the mother plant but given the damage so far the neighbor has nothing to complain about.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

I do Love my Banana's but when it's someone else's anything invading my property, and damaging it as well I would simply vapor barrier the grass on my side of the effected fence and spray a plant killer which will spread through the root sytem of all plants in the area if done right thus correcting the problem. I call it imminent domain, time to take your property back. Knuclehead might plant another but may think twice before doing so.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Old engine oil will do the trick - failing that diesel!! Works on most everything! We use it here on invasive shrubby trees from the lot next door - old engine oil is the better of the two!

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Anything hanging over the fence on your side can be cut off without permission from your neighbor
And I do mean ANYTHING...including growing banana bunches
If it were me I'd be transplanting those pups

But If it was wrecking my fence I'd be cutting everything off that was on my side of the fence
I topped 3 Maple trees that were hanging over my side of the fence
Never asked the neighbor....but I'm sure they didn't mind (2 huge Oaks there)

And report him to the HOA..again & again & again & again
Last house neighbors let there dog run free
I called the Police & Dog catcher so many times they finally came & took the dog - after fining the owner $300
And call your insurance company
Have them call HIS insurance company regarding the damage to your property

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Also I might be very unpopular for what I'm about to say, but it's not that difficult to kill a banana. When I was eliminating weed in my lawn with a special herbicide targeting initial weed development stages (specifically Taraxacum officinale herbicides...), I accidentally sprayed a litlle on one SDC I had planted out before. Banana died within a week. At first it yellowed, than browned and then went black.

This (as I later found out) also works with some invasive trees, such as Sambucus for my zone.

But beware, such damage could be described as crime on someone else's property. If that someone can prove it. And I'm not talking about the moral point of view...

I've been cutting and eliminating trees all over my yard for about 2 years now and had to "remove" several trees from my neighbour's yard, because he refused to trim them. Luckily for me, he doesn't go to that part of garden very often, but then, there's no way of saving any plant after spraying. Maybe only if it rained immediately after you go along spraying things.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Like Scuba dave said.. anything that crosses your property line vertically to infinity can be cut-off without notification of other parties. I'm just wondering.. how close your fence is to the line? For me the simple matter would be to goto my local Farm supply and get a siringe and inject the banana root directly where its on your property with a plant killer. This should fix the problem that effects your property thus not effecting a flower-bed of what you have on your side.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

well first welcome. Sorry to hear of your problem. I been there done that. I have a two foot side walk all around my fence line. I have a cyclone fence now its the privacy plus fence with the ninyl slats in them. I love it. I had a wood fence that I had to replace three times because of neighbors bushes. On one side of me the fence fell I left it laying there for over a year. Finally the neighbor got mad and told me we have to do somthing about it I agreed I told her I would get a bid she said ok let her know how much I did she said ok. Any how a week before they were going to put the fence up I told her she was going to have to trim her plants she did not the night before this half indian boy went out and got wild on her bushes !!!!!!! She was pissed. I didnt care because by that time I was pissed too. She did not pay me for half the fence I had a 8 ft tall fence put up . She complained and complained I did not care she did not talk to me for over two years until she was almost dying and her mom ask me if I would go and get her some medicine and leave it on her front porch and I did it was hard but I did it. Thats the way I was tought. She found out it was me who left the medicine and came over crying and telling me how bad she felt for all the things she said. Thats my story and im sticking to it. The two girls from Hawaii on the other side of me did help me with the cost of there side of the fence plus they helped me take down all my old fence and put it in the dumpster. The guy behind me said he would pay for half of his and he didnot.
Good luck to ya. And by the way bananas are really ok. Maybe you should try some.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

This is exactly the reason I prefer to live in the country! It'd be pretty hard for even the MOST invasive of plants to travel the 1/2 mile between my house and my closest neighbor. LOL.

I would definitely install one of the root barriers mentioned/linked above to keep pups from coming up on your side. Beyond that, you can remove any foliage hanging past the midline of your fence, as mentioned. And lastly, there's always the option of reporting such things. Apparently, your neighbor is kind of rude and unaccommodating. You've tried to work with him politely/respectfully. I don't see that it has worked too well....the next step is to report it to higher powers.

Best of luck.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

I'm not sure where you are located, but in most localities when you install a fence it has to be on your side of the property line. Have the municipality come out and tell you where that line is and legally you can remove anything on your side of it.

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

We paid for and errected the fence; it is directly on the property line. This street is zoned as "zero lot line homes." No wiggle room. And he did plant his plant his BT ("bad trees"? :ha:) on his side of the line.

But...."de roots, Boss, here come de roots!"

Re: Good neighbor but bad on fencing
 

Thank you for sharing information on barrier supplies, I will definately follow through and have the entire length of fence done.

I do regularly remove the follage which hangs over the fence but I mostly have to wait until it gets crispy brown and bends because the trees are so tall. The new low buds which poke through are no problem. But mostly the fence line looks pretty shoddy with the exception for the very tallest, most straight, fresh, green tender leaves, few and short lived that they are. The trees are infected with something which produces a slimey goo with ants in it. That, at least, ran off the cat that had taken up the base of the grove for a private latrine.

Ah, morning coffee on the deck, over looking the natural creek, fanned by shredded dead banana leaves with the subtle fragrance of cat pee.

Each Zero Lot Line home has it's garage facing the street/sidewalk. Every two homes share a common drive-way. Pity the nice old couple who have shared their driveway with HIM for more than 20 years. A few garages have no windows, most do and commonly covered with something complimentary to the house windows: shutters, blinds, etc. OUR HERO hung a heavy wooden clothing rod (inside) above his window; his window covering is a mashed of clothes. Saving grace: the window is so dirty that, until another neighbor pointed it, I had never noticed.

Last month we got a letter from the HOA citing us for our yard people putting a bag of grass clippings at our curb at noon, pick up scheduled the following morning. The letter pointed out By-Laws which "prohibit" any trash being put curb side before 6pm the night before pick-up. HELP! Now where's a cop when they needed one? :03: