Can I do anything about people cutting my plants off my fence!?

Question

It took me 2 plus years to train my honey suckle on my fence in the back yard, and the property owners behind me are getting the house ready to REsell (directly behind me). The fence is MINE, and the plants are mine. They not only trimmed it to nothing, but then took their clippers and stuck them thru my fence and CUT the ROOT at the ground. I am so UP SET!!!! I know it might just be honey suckle but it took a Very long time to get it so BIG, and Trained, and not to mention the water, fertilizer, and my poor heart is broke!

Is there anything I can do? They have destroyed my pride, and hard work and dedication! I plan to plant more, but in the future when they have to REsell this house again, they may do the same thing. Can I keep it from happening?

Please Help!

I should add, they ReSell these houses NON stop. They manage to run GOOD people off, with nit picking, and then the process starts all over agian. In the last 3 years I have seen 5 families come and go! So I know it won't be the last time.

I live in Texas, Smith County!!

Answer 1

If the root is on your property....they are technically not allowed to touch it.
When someone else moves in....dont waste anytime, go right over. Welcome them with some flowers or baked goods maybe. Be extremely friendly, then casually bring up your interest in your well-kept Honey Suckle and other plants as well.
Go ahead and tell them how these past neighbors cut at your plant without even asking.
Most importantly.... be sure to make it clear that the actual root of the plant IS on YOUR property.
And that according to the law....they were NOT allowed to do that.
This is true...I assure you.
I watch alot of Judge Judy!
We had the same exact problem with our neighbor.
I happen to think vines and plants of such are rather beautiful growing up next to a fence.
Ours is growing up again. I'm so affraid our neighbor is going to do that again.
I almost think ppl do it just to be nosey and sneak peeks into our yards.
What a shame indeed.

Answer 2

In Australia, if you share the back fence (doesn't matter who payed for it) then they are allowed to trim what hangs over THEIR SIDE of the fence only. Sounds like these nasty buggers were breaking the law in any country. That said. be aware that when you plant stuff like that on fences they can leave a huge mess in other people's yards (which I'm guessing was the problem). Perhaps next time plant something that doesn't drop flowers or leaves...some type of evergreen vine? I know it's heartbreaking but you don't want someone to do it again 2 yrs from now do you?

Answer 3

This happened to us once too. We always did our best to keep the neighbour's side of the fence clipped, but during a resale the agent had the whole thing cut as far as they could reach over the fence. Our side still had a few vines left, but it was no longer pretty and did not give us the privacy we wanted.

If they actually reached into your side, you probably could make them replant your honeysuckle. The only problem being that an attorney will cost money. Most of the time, just a letter from an attorney will do the trick.

I hope you had lots of hummingbirds around your honeysuckle. We had several this year. I hate to see summer ending, and I bet you do too.

Answer 4

Most of the honeysuckle around is invasive. You can't just cut the pieces that are on the property because it will come back with a vengeance. Honeysuckle puts a chemical in the ground around it so that nothing else can grow. The berries are void of nutritional value for animals and fill them up (in a bad way). Honeysuckle kills trees around it by blocking out light. There are many other plants you could buy inexpensively that would be better than honeysuckle.

Answer 5

I'm still trying to figure out how come it takes you so long to grow a honeysuckle vine. They usually get out of control in no time at all without any encouragement whatsoever. I can't believe you water and fertilize it. Honestly, it will grow back so fast you won't remember it was cut. Just enjoy the process of watching it grow again and do what the other posters suggested as a friendly means or resolving the issue and avoiding a future recurrence. Honeysuckle is not even rare or expensive but grows naturally until many people find it a nuisance since it will take everything over, but to each his own. It smells great when it's in bloom.

Answer 6

Since they crossed your property line to cut the vine then you probably have some legal recourse. Technically they can trim anything hanging over on their side, but they have to stop at the property line and are not allowed to go past the fence.
The property next to me went up for sale once again and the owner hired lawn people to mow and clean up. I just happened to be home and saw one of the guys attempting to cut down the trumpet vine growing on my fence. I went out and stopped him and he told me that he was told to clear the fence. I informed him that it is my fence which means it is my vine and showed him that the trunk was on my side. He agreed and called the owner. Needless to say, I still have my vine.
Anyhow, I think you should at the very least strongly object to what has happened and see what you can do to get reimbursed for your plant as well as the time and effort that went into it. If you go the legal route then make sure you take pictures to prove that they crossed the boundary line.
Good Luck

Answer 7

EVEN THOUGH IT IS BAD, THEY MAY HAVE DONE YOU A FAVOR. I AM ASSUMING THAT YOU HAVE CHAIN LINK FENCE SINCE THEY WERE TRIMMING LIKE THEY DID.SINCE IT IS CUT BACK NOW, AND THE WEATHER IS COOLER, IT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO MOVE IT. MAYBE PUT UP A ROSE TRELLIS, A WAGON WHEEL, OR ... DIG UP YOUR HONEYSUCKLE AND MOVE IT SO NO ONE WILL MESS WITH IT AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO KEEP IT UNDER CONTROL. EVENTUALLY, IF LEFT ON A CHAIN LINK, IT WILL ROLL YOUR FENCE AND PULL IT TO THE GROUND. MAYBE PUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T VINE AND IS LESS INVASIVE, BUT STILL PRETTY. IF YOU LOOK IN THE WOODS, OR YOU CAN ORDER IT, THERE IS A RED HONEYSUCKLE. IT WOULD BE PRETTY MIXED IN WITH YOUR WHITE. IT ISN'T AS FAST GROWING AND THE FLOWER IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. GOOD LUCK AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU.

Answer 8

My company operates in Arizona. Arizona state law states you can cut anything from neighboring properties that infringes on your property line, no exclusions for vertical distance.

I don't know what kind of fence you have, but I would secure my fence so no one could reach through anymore. this will protect your stubbed honeysuckle. next I would install a trellis a few feet out from the fence, and when the stubbed out honeysuckle start growing, let it grow up the trellis instead. This will allow it to grow taller than the trellis, and fall back behind itself as well, while keeping it out of the way of the neighboring landscape maintenance personell.

Answer 9

My elderly male neighbor lived with our lush honeysuckle vine for many years, up until I (single, female) moved in The vines on OUR fence one foot in from HIS chainlink fence were lush and think and provided almost total privacy; he could not see me from his driveway. The last 5 years he has been reaching onto my property and severely cutting the vines between the 2 fences, and clipping the feeder vines. He has killed almost the entire vine, which is rooted and grown entirely on our fence in our yard. He did the most damage to vines in from of the kitchen door, my windows, and my small swimming pool, creating an area almost 30 feet long from which he has a clear view of all activity in my yard. I spoke to him, and he said he didn't want it to look like the healthy, lush, green, thick honeysuckle that lines my drive out of his reach. In my opinion, he just likes to be able to watch his single female neighbor with as little obstruction as possible. I told him he was ki;lling my landscaping and asked him to stop; he said he won't, so I mentioned a possible lawsuit. He had to reach over his chain link fence and 1.5 feet into my yard to kill my vines, and may be using poison.
My next step is a cease and desist letter, and I plan to try to force him to pay for the damage. Meanwhile, he will not find me as congenial and conscientious a neighbor as I have been. I have covered my bare fence with old rags, scraps of plastic, and bits of canvas. I have many ugly sculptures to top our fence with, and am in the process of making some loud wind chimes. I'm fond of listening to Opera while doing the laundry, (outside my kitchen door), and have started to do so as I please.

Answer 10

I hope everyone kills every invasive plant there is. My neighbor's honeysuckle just about killed a pine on the property line with honeysuckle. Honeysuckle is an invasive species and it DOESN'T belong anywhere. Eventually it will get out of control. This isn't about obeying your neighbor's orders. It's about getting rid of a **** plant.