Apple trees over pipes

teckel

Hello
I'm wondering can you help me out here. I'm going to plant some apple trees and want to know can I plant them over pipes that I have laid for my heating system. The series of pipes are a 1000 to 1200mm down in the ground and a meter apart. I haven't decided on what type of trees yet but should know fairly shortly. How deep do the roots of apple trees grow??
Thanks in advance.
Teckel

Oldtree

Got this qhote for you from here:

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/Horticulture_Fruit_2008-01pr.pdf

The effective rooting depth depends on soil conditions, variety and rootstock. Although apple roots can grow to a depth of several yards, nearly all of the roots of a mature tree are typically in the top 30 to 36 inches (Atkinson, 1980).

Not knowing your site I would worry that the roots could penetrate or damage your pipes, depending on what the pipes are made of. As the pipes are an integral part of the home heating it may be prudent to stick to planting the more shallow rooting shrub(s).

paddy147

Oldtree wrote: »

Got this qhote for you from here:

http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/Horticulture_Fruit_2008-01pr.pdf

The effective rooting depth depends on soil conditions, variety and rootstock. Although apple roots can grow to a depth of several yards, nearly all of the roots of a mature tree are typically in the top 30 to 36 inches (Atkinson, 1980).

Not knowing your site I would worry that the roots could penetrate or damage your pipes, depending on what the pipes are made of. As the pipes are an integral part of the home heating it may be prudent to stick to planting the more shallow rooting shrub(s).

Thats what I was saying before,here in the gardening forum,about underground utilities and digging,planting trees and garden shrubs.

You need to know where exactly the underground utilities are,their exact depth,and also make sure that the roots of what you plant will not interfere with these utilities.

PS-Utilities and trenchs should allways be marked with the correct warning tape and infilled with at least 5 inches of sharp said or grit,for future safety/digging purposes.

teckel

paddy147 wrote: »

Thats what I was saying before,here in the gardening forum,about underground utilities and digging,planting trees and garden shrubs.

You need to know where exactly the underground utilities are,their exact depth,and also make sure that the roots of what you plant will not interfere with these utilities.

PS-Utilities and trenchs should allways be marked with the correct warning tape and infilled with at least 5 inches of sharp said or grit,for future safety/digging purposes.

Well paddy147
I know exactly where the pipes are and how deep they are. They are not less than a meter deep.
So basically I can't plant apple trees over these pipes then???
Or is there certain apple trees that I can plant over these pipes that don't have a deep root
The pipes are 2" hydrolare (I think it's called) with a 2mm wall

Oldtree

Now thats a very interesting question. Crushing of the pipes over time by the roots encircling the pipe would be the main concern I think..

from:

http://dspace.udel.edu:8080/dspace/bitstream/handle/19716/2830/Chapter%205.%20Roots%20and%20Root%20Systems.pdf?sequence=10

Wiggans (1936) found that roots of 18-year-old apple trees penetrated to a depth of at least 10 m and fully occupied the soil between the rows, which were about 10 m apart.

Rootstock info:

http://www.orangepippin.com/resources/general/apple-rootstocks

Now as the dwarf ones need permenent staking I wouldnt think that they have huge roots.

However having said that I remember seeing a black and white programme of an early underground experiment in the UK at East Malling research station using apple trees grown up against glass and the root systems were large.

Now one option, to be sure, would be to plant the trees in large containers buried in the soil thus restricting the roots in that way, or along a similar vein to use a permeable root barrier membrane such as this one:

http://www.terram.com/products/geotextiles/rootguard.html

paddy147

teckel wrote: »

Well paddy147
I know exactly where the pipes are and how deep they are. They are not less than a meter deep.
So basically I can't plant apple trees over these pipes then???
Or is there certain apple trees that I can plant over these pipes that don't have a deep root
The pipes are 2" hydrolare (I think it's called) with a 2mm wall

I did the same as you,I installed mains water,SWA,alarm cables,Cat5e and Co-Ax cables in 50mm diameter heavy guage Hydrodare.

But I didnt plant any trees in that area,we kept the tree well away from that area and only planted small plants and flowers over that area.

Id say you would be allright with the heavy guage hydrodare as a barrier.:)