how to remove tree roots

[Charles]

Move garden

[Johnny]

A giant 30+ feet pine tree is growing wildly one foot outside my fence. All the tree root are growing underneath inside my garden.

The tree root and stubs are all over the surface of my garden. All my grass and plants die.

I want the root stop growing into my garden. Better yet, I wish this tree stops growing.

I drilled holes in the root and poured some of the stubs removal pellets (brought from Home Depot). Its difficult to drill much a one inch hole. So far, nothing happened and root still growing like crazy.

Any suggestions and recommendations are welcome?

[Brian Watson]

Where are you?

Who owns the land the tree is actually on?

UK law puts obligations on them but that may not apply where you are and the owner could take action against you for killing their property (ie, the tree) under some circumstances.

-- Brian "When all about you is crumbling, when the arse is falling out of your world, you need to focus on something positive in your life. Something you can control, improve even."

[Mike LaMana]

It sounds like this is the neighbors tree and you have its roots in your yard? Is this true??

If so, careful here from a legal point of view. I am NOT a lawyer, but I am a consulting arborist. It is my understanding that (depending on where you are) you have the right to self-help if there is encroachment upon your real estate by a neighbor's vegetation - above and below ground.

I.e. - "..it's his tree, he should keep it in his yard..." as it were. As you know this is not easy to do with roots.

However, if you were to take some action to control the root encroachment that results in the death of the tree, or that (Lord forbid) results in the tree toppling over and damaging something or someone, you may have the potential for a real legal problem.

My advice is to a good consulting arborist involved, and let this person assess the situation, make recommendations in writing, etc. Money well-spent IMO. I have seen, and been part of, many cases where arborists and attorneys are called in after the fact and the conflict is full blown. Don't go there.

[Dave]

Rent a trencher. Dig a trench. Fill it with poured concrete. This is not cheap but may save your sanity if you have no other options.

[Johnny]

Dave, I am in Seattle. Dig a trench seems like to right thing to do. That will certainly ruin my garden. I plan to covering the entire area with rocks. How do I remove the roots?

[Dave]

So you do not own the tree, right? It is outside your property, right?

What type of garden? A garden where you will want to till the soil to a depth of several inches?

So cut the roots off with an axe and then dig them out with a shovel. A stump grinder might also be useful.

So if you plan to cover the area with rocks why do you care about roots? Why not simply cover them up with a deeper layer of rocks?