trimming a pine tree root.

[meirman]

Hi,

I have a pine tree about 18 feet high with a trunk a foot in diameter just above the ground.

A root has grown under my sidewalk to my townhouse front door, about 5 feet from the tree, lifting up the sidewalk. If I cut that one root out, is it going to hurt the tree?

Do I need to paint the stub with that black tar they sell for pruning? I have a small never-used can somewhere, but it's buried under all my junk and I'd have to hunt or buy a new can.

Do I need to do something to keep the root from growing again and lifting the sidewalk again?

(A guy doing the neighborhood sidewalks volunteered one of his men who cut this section from the adjacent section at the line. I should be able to lift it up myself, with a 2x4.)

Meirman

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[Roger]

Generally it is fine to cut the roots, but depends on the size of the root relative to the trunk size, and whether that direction is windward, possibly making the tree more likely to fall in a storm. . If it is, say, a few inches across I would think it would do no harm. I root prune Monterey Pines all the time, when I see roots of any size that go under pavement. Have cut roots within a six to eight feet of the 30-inch tree that are 3 to 6 inches in diam., and the trees are doing fine, and the root stays cut. Once root is cut, I leave it slightly exposed in the dry air just to make sure I can watch it for a few years to see if it regrows. Healthy trees sense loss of root ends, and the tree may put out roots elsewhere in proportionally greater profusion. Pruning paint is not needed as far as I know. Cut the root at least several inches back from the sidewalk edge. To chop it, I use a 20 pound punch bar with an axe-like edge on one end. an axe also works.This avoids having to dig all around it and under it, so it can be sawn..

[Will Niccolls]

"meirman"

Maybe. There's only one way to find out.

Google "root barrier".

Will Niccolls

[wayne]

As for cutting the root I have found a sawzall works well. My girlfriend lives in a 25 yr old house when I went to help with her sprinkler system I had to cut numerous roots from pencil to thumb size. Also see if you can start to deep root water or water the surface less to get the roots down in the ground.

Wayne

[Lawrence Wasserman]

If you have a pine tree 5 feet from your front door, it would be well worth considering having it taken down while it is only 18 ft high.

[Logan Henderson]

[John Gilmer]

Double that "Amen."

Nothing good comes from trees grown close to a house. Their leaves or needles clow gutters. There roots lift up foundations and slabs. AND if or when the three dies, the roots rot and leave a void which causes foundations and slabs to crack.

ANY tree that's a tall as the house should be far enough away that you don't have to worry about it coming down in a storm.

Kill it while you can!

[meirman]

In alt.home.repair on Mon, 13 Sep 2004 14:00:07 GMT [e-mail] (Lawrence Wasserman) posted:

Sorry The tree is more than 20 feet from the front door. It's 5 feet from the sidewalk. ;)

(Although now that you mention it, there is another variety of tree about 9 feet from the house. Not so tall either. I'll have to look at it some more when it's light out. But it doesn't have any roots that show above the ground (like the tree above does) and it hasn't caused any trouble, even to the patio one foot away. The previous owner planted all this stuff. Spent loads of time on these things. I thought he knew what he was doing. :) )

Thanks again.

Meirman If emailing, please let me know whether or not you are posting the same letter.

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