My tree couldn’t be saved, unfortunately. Apparently the root system was too shallow (this despite the tree’s great height) for it to be restaked and thrive. The guys who came today to take it down told me they could restake it, but because of that underdeveloped root system, it would never be terribly stable and would probably come down again.
I didn’t like what I was hearing, but I understood and let them get on with their business. In fifteen minutes, the tree was chopped and chipped, with only a stump left in the ground. A stump which, by the way, these guys were NOT authorized to remove. It seems that there is different machinery to take a stump out of the ground and even a different wood chipper. I was incredulous to hear this: “You mean to tell me that the strata manager only sent you out to do half a job?!? You weren’t told to take the stump out of the ground too?!?” I sputtered.
The guys were apologetic and advised me to contact the strata manager tomorrow and tell him that I also want the stump removed. How ridiculous, I thought. You can call someone to take down a two-storey tree but you don’t consider taking out its 15-centimetre diameter stump – the one with the shallow root system – part of the job?
Well, this isn’t over yet! I have some emails and phone calls to make this week – and I can’t guarantee that I will be polite.
And I also have a couple of new trees to purchase and plant next spring.
Thank you, 
Thank you, Fhina, at 
Thanks to Pauline of 
I found this over at 
Thank you, Mrwriteon, at 
Pinklea 
Leaving the stump is both thoughtless and ludicrous. Stand up for your rights, darlin’ as I know you will.
As PG noted, it wouldn’t even take much to pull that stump out of the garden, since its roots are so shallow. Disposal might be a bit more of an issue, but regardless, it’s not my responsibility. I haven’t sent a snarky email yet, though – I’m waiting till I’m a little calmer about the whole incident. Maybe this evening …
So I guess you won’t be wandering around the that side of the house nekkid anymore…
Uh – no. Just no.
That was fast!!
btw, what is a ‘strata’? is this like a condo? or a co-op? I would have thought if it was, then they would need to replace the tree, no?
A strata is a bit like a co-op, I guess. As I understand it, we all own and are responsible for the inside of our homes, but our yards are “limited common space”, meaning we have exclusive rights to their use but the council and manager deal with most of the maintenance of them. I say “most” of the maintenance items, because basically they ensure that the lawns are cut, any original trees trimmed, fences are painted or repaired, etc. I can pretty much plant whatever I want, but I need the council’s approval to do things like put up a deck or change the layout of the yard.
So I think my loophole for getting strata to pay for replacing my tree is that the one they took down was original to this development. I didn’t put it in, nor did the previous owners of my home.