Did I plant these too close to house?

[cracker joe]

I recently planted these camphor trees in my yard but fear that I may have placed them too close to the house. The one on the left is 8 feet away from the house and the one on the right is 13 feet away.

If this is too close, is there anything I can do to protect the house and foundation, short of replanting them further away?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[treeclimber165]

Those look a little better than that almost-dead one you had.

Camphors are fast growing trees. Without doing anything, I can see you having problems in 5-10 years with the trees crowding each other and possibly some root intrusion on the walk area.

If you want heavy shade on that area, you can leave both, but I'd do a root trim in about a year or two on the house side, about 4'-5' away from the trees. Using a sharp shovel, cut a line parallel with the house about 4' out from the trunk to cut any major roots growing straight towards the house. This should help redirect the major growth in that direction (if any). This can be done in a year or two when the roots start spreading out. This should only need to be done once.

 

[cracker joe]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the tip. In your opinion, would it be foolish to try and move the trees? I would rather not do that just because of all the work involved, especially if trimming the roots can control the spread.

What about pruning the trees, would that slow or limit their growth?

 

[treeclimber165]

Proper pruning can redirect growth, but nothing short of butchery will slow or limit growth. Many times people plant fast growing trees and then wish to 'control' growth several years later. Unless they work WITH the tree instead of against it, they usually end up with a butchered, ugly, hazard tree.

As far as moving the trees, it depends on what you want and what time frame you plan for. In 5-8 years, you will have little grass in that area. In 10-12 years, you will probably be paying someone to remove one of the trees.

As fast as Camphors grow and as large as they get, I'd move one of the trees before it gets established. Probably the one closest to the walk. But this is if it were MY house. The choice is yours, all I can do is try to help you see what will happen down the road so you can weigh the benifits vs. the negatives.