Question
I live in Vancouver, WA. A vast quantity of "cottonwood" trees are growing down by the river on city-owned property. They are not being pruned and are now blocking the river and city-scape views of vast amounts of homes and condo's on the hill above them. I have read that they are high producer's of allergies. Is this true? Can they be pruned and how often would they need to be pruned to keep them from increasing in height (reasonably)? Can you recommend reasons why these trees SHOULD be either pruned or cut down from your "expert" point of view? The decrease in these high-end riverview homes is extensive.
thank you,
susan cusack
Answer
You are not going to like my answer. The trees need to be left alone. They were there before the buildings and in my opinion add to the landscape not detract. The root of the tree also help stabilize the water bank keeping the bank from washing. Topping would kill the trees or make them look like an buildings bush. Topping is never the answer. They could be possibly pruned --lower branches but this would not solve your "blocking the view" problems. Cottonwoods are either female or male--the female do produce seed pods and the fluffy seed will blow around. Some folks may be allergic to this but some folks are allergic to anything. The trees are not "high producers of allergies". In my opinion the tree should stay unless they are dying then they should be removed.
