Can i cut exposed tree roots

By covering your visible tree roots with a material like mulch or compost, you protect the roots while improving the appearance of your landscape. The first step to covering exposed tree roots is to gently remove the turf from the area under the tree where the exposure is occurring. By edging around tree roots, you create a clear line between the covering and the rest of the lawn. Bark much is a light substrate that encourages air and water flow. It also protects the ground from soil erosion and insulates the exposed roots.

Be careful not to apply the mulch directly against the trunk, leaving a small distance to prevent rot. When covering your exposed tree roots, don't cover the area by planting perennials, as these bedding plants will compete with the tree for nutrients and water.

Some people also build retaining walls or other hardscapes around their tree base, which is also not recommended, as tree roots will still find their way to the surface. If you want to get rid of exposed tree roots, physically removing roots is not recommended.

Trees need their root systems for water and nutrients as well as stability, which is a paramount safety concern. Will it be able to survive on that? Who knows? Do you really want to find out? Mow down whatever grass is growing under the tree. Raze it to the ground with a weed-whipper. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Large trees often have roots protruding out of the ground around the base of the trunk such as the ones that can push up sidewalks next to the tree. When is it safe to cut those roots that might be a hazard to people running in the area near the tree , and when should you be worried about that causing damage to the tree?

There is some guidance here. It is difficult to say how much of a tree's root system can be removed. I prefer to talk about how close to the tree you can cut roots. This Critical Root Radius radius, not diameter, in feet is calculated by measuring the diameter not radius or circumference of the trunk in inches, not feet at four and one-half feet from the ground and multiplying by 1.

A tree with a five-inch diameter trunk at the four and one-half foot level will have a CRR of 7. The CRR provides a general guideline. When roots are lost for any reason, the imbalance creates stress. A tree usually has 4 to 7 major roots. Cutting just one of them within a few feet of the trunk can remove up to 25 percent of the root system.

Removing large or major roots from a tree is going to have a detrimental effect on the health of the tree i. Removing " sucker " roots, if done properly, should have no long term negative effects on the health of a tree, assuming they weren't sent up as a sign of stress see below , even then they can be removed as the tree has much greater problems that need addressing if possible, feasible to-do-so Anything in the Ficus genus via below comment from Lisa. Other times "sucker" roots can be a sign a tree is in stress, and those roots have been sent up above ground as a survival mechanism eg.

Learn more. We recently updated our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use this website, you acknowledge that our revised Privacy Policy applies. Roots can be exposed by: Rain, runoff or wind may erode the soil around roots. This is especially common on slopes.