In my front yard is a saguaro. It has been there since I moved here in 1988 with just 2 arms. It is a home to many birds, including woodpeckers, cactus wrens, and mourning doves. Tomorrow, I'm having it removed. I'm very sad about this. Over the last year, it's dropped 4 arms. It currently has 2 arms hovering over my roof, and one arm that is pushing up against my roof. So help me say goodbye to my old friend.

Leaning in for a big hug


The troublesome arm


Here you can see where 3 of the 4 arms fell off and more of the lean.


Here is a brand new arm breaking through and it is pointing straight at the house


Here is the view from the street. You can see where the 4th arm fell off, and I think you can tell how many of the arms all on the far side of the cactus, toward the house making it very off balance.


Here is the view from the other side, showing again how so much of the weight is on the house side of the cactus and how many of the arms are growing straight at the house.


With a fantastic amount of help from @AgaveGirl, I tried saving this cactus. There are companies that will remove saguaros with arms for free with the intention of selling them. Unfortunately, none of them would take this cactus. I was told that the loss of the arms changes the internal structure of the cactus. They say that it would probably crack open lengthwise if they attempted to move it. I also asked about trimming off some of the arms, and this was also a no go. The lean is too severe.

So tomorrow a bucket truck will arrive at my house. They will rope the cactus from the street to try to keep it from damaging the house as they take it down. They will remove the arms piece by piece. Then they will start at the top and cut it down section by section. I will pay $1000 for this service. I've taken the afternoon off work and will take pictures of the process.

Saguaros are magnificent plants, but they belong in their natural habitat. Just say no to saguaros in residential areas.

I'm so sorry. They are magnificent and that one was a beauty.

One of our neighbors has a leaning one, and they attached a come-a-long to it and winch it up straighter. They leave it on, which doesn't look great, but at least it has saved it so far. They've had the winch on it for at least 10 years that we know of.

Ouch on that price to remove it.

How very sad what a beautiful old giant. We really do form bonds with our plants, don't we? My great-grandmother planted an orange tree that was still there when the last of my family members moved out of her house, and a few weeks ago we went by only to see it had been cut down so the patio could be extended. I can very much sympathize with and understand your situation though. It's sad to say goodbye to an old plant friend like that but especially if it is compromising the safety or structural integrity of one's home, there is sometimes no other alternative than removal.

Liz, I'm sorry, I had a taste of what you're going through, with a pine tree that someone else had planted too close to our house before it was our house. In my experience, every hardship is both a teaching and learning experience, so I hope you'll take comfort in knowing that you've been given the chance to plant the correct native plant at your residence to show how it's supposed to be done, and that you'll take every opportunity to let everyone, their dog and their Uncle Billy know that that beautiful saguaro had to go because of someone else's ignorance, stupidity and/or arrogance.

I know that it's a sad time for you. But rest assured that you did all you could. Sorry about the $$$.

And a sad time for the birds, too. But also cause to celebrate nearly 30 years living alongside a majestic desert giant, and the survival of your house intact. I would hope to one day live alongside our native equivalent, the cardón. Wonderful, beautiful plants.

I always enjoy seeing the large cardons at our Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.

Hey Liz,

What a day huh? Sorry to hear that your jolly green giant is going to go, but don't be too hard on yourself. You reached out, asked and made some serious attempts to at preservation. Although you didn't get the results you hoped for it certainly was not for a lack of trying. So, I think you should be commended for that. Not a whole lot of people would have taken that kind of time or made those kinds of efforts. for that.

The little birds will be fine. They're used to life in the desert and all of its radical changes. Believe me, they'll have no problem relocating to another cacti condo. No shortage of them around. Just look around and you'll see there's plenty of space available for all.

And Baja is right, celebrate the 30 years you got to enjoy the plant and the fact at least there is somebody there that can get the plant down while leaving your home in tact. That is a positive. Sucks about the price though. UGH!

If you ever have something like this again let me know ASAP. I may be able to work something out with my landscape neighbor. He doesn't do the work because he doesn't have the machinery but he knows people that do. I'm sure he and I could have made some contacts for you and worked something out that could have given my 'friend' a bit of a deal. NO PROMISES/GUARANTEES...but I'm sure he would have done some fishing for us amongst his colleges. I will tell you in advance he does take down dead/dying Century Plants should you need this service.

And I'm with Abbey when it comes to planting huge specimens close to homes. I used to live back East in N.E. Ohio and I can not tell you how many majestic mega huge, century old Oak and Elm and Maple or Weeping Willow trees have met their demise due to people's stupidity of building their homes too close to them and then complaining when the roots got into the septic and sewer systems or the limbs broke off and crashed through the roof.

Oh, and then they complain when birds, squirrels and raccoons and chipmunks make nests in the trees and wander over onto the roof and drain spouts and gutter guards or even clog up the fireplace chimney. Seriously? It's warm! It snows and is freezing in the winter in Ohio! What do people think is going to happen? Animals are animals and are going to 'act' like animals.

Speaking of ignorance and letting everyone, their dog and Uncle Billy know about the proper way to live amongst protected, endangered and precious native plants, can anyone tell me what is wrong with this pic........or will be in about 20 years?

This was taken at a BBQ locally in my home town. My husband belongs to a BBQ grill group/forum and the one guy with a fabulous yard and home hosted a mega huge BBQ for all of us in the tri-county AZ area. Now what is wrong with this pic?



And worse yet............ O.K. for those of you not from AZ, look up The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest and then you'll get it! Yeah. As a guest I said nothing. I did tell my husband in good conscience I can't go back. If I did I'd have to report them.




So I guess my take away with all of this is when it comes to majestic things like Saguaros, ancient deciduous trees and petrified fossil rock I'm privileged I live amongst it rather then with it. Enjoying it from afar is good. Having it in your yard is far from good.

Keep us up to date tomorrow Liz on the removal.
Try to have a good day as you did your best.
AG

Hi AG, I'm afraid to ask what that yahoo had on the grill!

They tried to put it off until Monday. I told them very firmly that I had taken today off work in order to be there in case there was damage to the house. I cannot get Monday off after taking today off. So they agreed to come today after all. ARGH!

I hope it went well with no damage, Liz. Good for you for insisting they do it as scheduled.

Still waiting on them Karen. Original time was between 2 pm and 3 pm. They said if I insisted they come today they would be "late" with no description of what that actually means. I'm just hanging out and enjoying the afternoon off.

Uh..........I think I'd call their boss and pitch a fit at their unprofessionalism considering the magnitude and cost of the job and the fact that you are missing work today to do this.

Then again there is always that 'customer review' time on Yelp and Google. I found mentioning that option has expedited a lot of things on my behalf and gotten me better service then I would have otherwise gotten.

Seriously though? Sounds like these people have more balls then a tennis court----pardon me for putting it that way, but they do to tell you to wait. I think AFTER the job I'd rip them a new one.

Sorry, Liz but I feel real bad and I feel a tad responsible since I helped you find these jokers but how was I/we supposed to know it would turn out this way and they would handle things like this given the serious and dire nature of the situation...... Next time you need something let me know ASAP and I'll get with my neighbor. We'll use his connections. Couldn't be any worse. I have to say I commend you for your attitude in enjoying the afternoon. I don't know if I could be so laid back. Enviable trait.

Abbey.............as for the BBQ, well it was quite impressive and a delicious spread. I mean when you get down to it, it was super nice and generous of them to not just host this extravaganza, put out a huge spread with all the fixins' but to also include a +1 of the BBQ forum person invited and to let us use the pool. Just wasn't pleased with pilfered artifacts and poor plant placement. But hey. Guess I gotta pick and choose my battles right?






So I hope they get out there soon.

Oh my, I hope they make it before dark, Liz!

It is light after 7 pm.....

Maybe it is a sign that you should keep it?!?!

Liz I feel so bad. I'm so sorry.
AG

AgaveGirl1 said: :Abbey.............as for the BBQ, well it was quite impressive and a delicious spread. I mean when you get down to it, it was super nice and generous of them to not just host this extravaganza, put out a huge spread with all the fixins' but to also include a +1 of the BBQ forum person invited and to let us use the pool. Just wasn't pleased with pilfered artifacts and poor plant placement. But hey. Guess I gotta pick and choose my battles right?

I just thought he would have dished up elephant chili and komodo dragon steaks

Liz, when you sign their check, just remember that it's "Harpo Marx" and not "Harpo Marks."

What an impressive specimen Liz, sorry to see it go, but safety first for you and your family.