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How do you handle large roots of deciduous trees?

brendanner
l'anno scorso

I admire your work and frequently scrutinize your projects because we live in the same area.

In this (Milton Residence) and others like Woodland Retreat, you manage to plant much closer to deciduous trees than I’m able. A tall maple tree that shades the backyard has extensive gnarled surface roots that make it difficult to dig at all. Soil seems poor but I’m afraid that covering the roots with topsoil might damage the tree. I have the same concern with planting in a container on top of roots.

Do you have any suggestions for dealing with large, mature roots? The only option I can think of is camouflaging with mulch or rocks.

I’d appreciate any advice.

Milton Residence · Maggiori informazioni

Commento (1)

  • PRO
    a Blade of Grass
    l'anno scorso

    Large roots of mature trees are tricky to work around. In general we try to stay away from disturbing any major roots within the dripline of mature trees. Then it's about finding pockets where you can dig and not planting anything that's going to have a large woody root system of its own. You can see in this project, for example, that the area close to the trunk of that mature beech tree in the background is more or less bare, the rhododendron were there already, and the plants we added were groundcovers and perennials.


    It also matters what the tree is. Norway Maples are notoriously difficult to plant under partially because of large aggressive root systems, but also because their canopies are so dense that very little light filters through to the ground beneath them. Black walnut trees actually produce an allelopathic chemical which impedes growth of other plants around its root system.

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