Cherry Blossom Tree Roots

duffman13

Looking for a bit of advice. We have a lovely huge cherry blossom tree outside a house we just bought. The grass was a little overgrown so after doing the first cut the lawnmower took a chunk out of a root on the surface.

I've two concerns here, the surface root is about 5ft from the house so I'm concerned it could case damage, I can't see how far its gone so it could be closer. Generally how far can they grow from the tree?

Second one, can I just dig up the root and cut it out of the ground? I'd like to keep the tree intact if possible. The tree itself is about 30ft and looks spectacular in full bloom. Very new to gardening as last house was a concrete jungle of a garden

Thanks

Lumen

How far is the house from the trunk and the edge of the canopy?

duffman13

Lumen wrote: »

How far is the house from the trunk and the edge of the canopy?

11 metres or so from the trunk, the canopy is roughly about 5 or 6 metres from the house. The root is the closest thing to the house

Lumen

In that case go ahead and cut it.

If it was me I'd take about a foot section out of it a couple of metres from the wall and leave whatever's nearer the house to rot into the ground to help drainage.

It's outside the limit of the canopy so won't do it much harm, but cherry trees aren't very long lived and get weaker with age. I've two similarly massive ones that are probably over 30 years old and blossom a little bit less every year, drop branches and get a bit tattier. I reckon I'll probably chop one or both some time in the next few years.

Dr4gul4

I'm no tree surgeon now, but i'll give you my 2 cents !

I've 4 chreey blossom tree's at the entrance to my house, two either side of the main entrance walls, there about 12/13 years old, and in my case, wind swept, so need some crowning.

I guy warned me last year about then, in his opinion, what you have above ground on them, you'll also have below ground. And while there was no obv structural damage as of yet, inevitably both my walls and driveway could be impacted by the roots.

Best approach was to thin the crown, and keep them under control.


Now ! I consulted a real tree surgeon on the topic, and he pointed out some mower damage which was prior to my arriving here. he said, it's possible that rot may be setting in, and inevitably they will have to come down due to this.

He did not however, suggest amputation of the damaged roots. he did concur on the eventual structural damage they would cause however.

Not sure if that will help you, maybe just consult a tree surgeon ? post covid, there not cheap however, as expensive as a real surgeon i would say in fact !

duffman13

Lumen wrote: »

In that case go ahead and cut it.

If it was me I'd take about a foot section out of it a couple of metres from the wall and leave whatever's nearer the house to rot into the ground to help drainage.

It's outside the limit of the canopy so won't do it much harm, but cherry trees aren't very long lived and get weaker with age. I've two similarly massive ones that are probably over 30 years old and blossom a little bit less every year, drop branches and get a bit tattier. I reckon I'll probably chop one or both some time in the next few years.

From speaking to neighbours they reckon its about 20 years old. They said if I'm concerned the council will remove it (have removed others on the road) but i like it and think it would be a shame to do anything unless it'll cause structural damage. The grass is very mossy so was planning on doing a bit of work on that so will do the above and cut out the root maybe a meter or two from the where the root is now but outside the canopy range.

Lumen

duffman13 wrote: »

From speaking to neighbours they reckon its about 20 years old. They said if I'm concerned the council will remove it (have removed others on the road) but i like it and think it would be a shame to do anything unless it'll cause structural damage. The grass is very mossy so was planning on doing a bit of work on that so will do the above and cut out the root maybe a meter or two from the where the root is now but outside the canopy range.

I have about 70 or 80 trees in my garden. I love them, and when they die I mourn them a little. I don't understand why people panic about tree roots, it doesn't take very long to dig a couple of holes and see where the roots are at, and trim them as necessary.

Anyway, I would keep the tree while it pleases you, but when that's no longer the case its time to be brutal and enjoy the process of planning its replacement.

duffman13

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

I'm no tree surgeon now, but i'll give you my 2 cents !

I've 4 chreey blossom tree's at the entrance to my house, two either side of the main entrance walls, there about 12/13 years old, and in my case, wind swept, so need some crowning.

I guy warned me last year about then, in his opinion, what you have above ground on them, you'll also have below ground. And while there was no obv structural damage as of yet, inevitably both my walls and driveway could be impacted by the roots.

Best approach was to thin the crown, and keep them under control.


Now ! I consulted a real tree surgeon on the topic, and he pointed out some mower damage which was prior to my arriving here. he said, it's possible that rot may be setting in, and inevitably they will have to come down due to this.

He did not however, suggest amputation of the damaged roots. he did concur on the eventual structural damage they would cause however.

Not sure if that will help you, maybe just consult a tree surgeon ? post covid, there not cheap however, as expensive as a real surgeon i would say in fact !

Thanks for that, my main concern is its outside the canopy of the tree but a few metres so I was wondering what else is going on i can't see. I did some mower damage myself to the piece I found. Tbh I'm not really in the mindset of paying a huge sum for a tree surgeon when likely the neighbour might request it to be cut down anyway if they think its causing damage.

Supercell

My neighbour has a Cherry tree in his front garden and its roots are lifting my driveway, which now has a 1cm crack right across it and getting wider over time. The tree is about 5 meters away. I certainly wouldn't want one close to the house given the damage its clearly capable of.