New neighbor cut my vines on fence too short....

9 years ago

Help........New neighbors gave my Caroline Jasmine vines on the back fence a short haircut almost to top of fence on their side causing a lot of the vines to fall partially off and some to die.

The fence and concrete footing was built with our hands with no financial help from previous owners of the house. Unfortunately we built the fence on the property line which allows the neighbor rights to what is on their side.

Usually neighbors would be considerate of others plants and not damage them. Trimming neatly would be no problem, but they have been cut near the tip top of fence leaving little or no support for plants on our side.

The vines are not massive and unruly since they are in heavy shade for 45 years or longer. They neatly cascade over the fence and have beautiful yellow flowers in the spring.

The new neighbors are sun lovers apparently. I saw the lady snipping any leaves that extended a few inches over top of fence on the other side of their yard. They stripped their yard of large oak trees and then put up a white tent like shade to sit under. They move the tent to various locations all the time.The tent reflects bright blinding light when we look out into our yard. Did I complain? No.

Any suggestions?

We have not met the new neighbors, not sure I want to now after seeing how disrespectful they are of others.

Krissie

Featured Answer

greg_2010

9 years ago

Why does your desire to have vines on the fence trump their desire to not have vines?
Put some trellises up on your side (a foot or so in from the fence) so that the vines don't encroach on their property and let them grow on that.
If you wanted total control of the fence, you should have built it exclusively on your property.

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Comments (6)

pprioroh
9 years ago
They may be ignorant of what they did - not everyone knows that trimming vines can kill them. Honestly speaking up is usually the best policy
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littlebug5
9 years ago
Since you haven't talked to them, you really don't know their reasons for doing what they have done. Maybe they suffer from hay fever or other allergies and your vines/flowers aggravate the problem. Maybe the vines draw bees, and they are allergic to bee stings. You really have no idea, and there's only one way to find out.

And I agree with the poster above - if you want control, you have to make sure your property is ON YOUR PROPERTY, not theirs.
User
9 years ago
Sorry, but I agree with the others. I am growing jasmine up my fence but would not be surprised or upset if my neighbors cut it off if it cascaded over the fence. It really shouldn't damage the plant on your side.
Lars
9 years ago
The vines are not massive and unruly since they are in heavy shade for 45 years or longer.

How can the vines not be massive and unruly if they are over 45 years old?

I am severely allergic to Carolina jasmine, even though I love the flowers and their fragrance. Not only am I allergic to the flowers, but I am also allergic to the mold that grows on the dead parts of the vines - I cannot go anywhere near those vines without a horrible attack of hay fever. You could easily be wrong about who the inconsiderate party is.

If you had a tangerine tree overhanging into my yard, that would be a different story. I used to get tangerines from my neighbors in Venice, and they would get figs from my tree that shaded part of their patio. It's a good thing they liked figs, however, as they can be very messy.

I think you are best growing vines on a trellis that is placed in front of your wall, so that the vines do not grow over it. I consider Carolina jasmine a pest, no matter how much I want to love it.
gsvinson
3 years ago
I have a related experience; for the second year, my neighbor has hacked up my jessamine. Last year, he reached through the fence and cut it by the roots. It came back nicely, and I was looking forward to the blossoms that would soon cover it. Today I came home to find that he again reached over my fence (which is a full 8 inches on my side of the property line) to cut almost every stem. The vine was a wilted mass of leaves. Sigh...no cheerful yellow flowers to cheer up that side of the yard.