root at surface

[George777]

I've got one customer who yesterday wanted to know what he could do about a root that is at the surface and in his turf. I told him that really not much could be done. If we cut it out I think it would effect the tree by allowing diease to infiltrate. i also told him that we can not cover the root with top soil. The only thing I could can up with was that it may not be getting enough water.

What causes roots to rise to the sirface? Can anything be done? The tree in question is a very nice healthy looking poplar.

 

[treeclimber165]

You can build up the soil around the exposed root. This has been brought up a couple times here, but not lately. The trick is to only build up 2"-3" per year, thus avoiding compaction and suffocation of the feeder roots. Most trees replace the vast majority of their feeder roots each year. the feeder roots are the extremely small hair-like roots where the actual transfer of nutrients and water takes place.
As for what actually causes some trees to send roots above the surface, I am of the opinion that nobody can PROVE any specific cause. We all may have our opinions as to the cause, but it may be genetic. Kinda like whether you are short and fat or tall and skinny. JMHO

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

There have been some small scale studies that point to the method of grade change being the bigest problem, not the depth. I've done this on a number of occations and the trees are still thriving. But I am not watching a number of them any more.

If you run ove rthe soil with a skidder and pile eight inches of soil up, it will cause some problems. If you wheel barrel 4 inches and tamp lightly to firm the soil, there should not be.

I have seen studies and anicdotal evidance that leads me to believe that the biggest cause of high surface roots is our watering habits. A few minuts of surface watering for the grass and shut it off. If all the water is on the surface, then that is where the roots will grow.

That all said, I would strongly recomend mulch beds around the trees, or do i sound like an unreasonable arborist type "kill the grass and mulch!"

 

[George777]

Thank you for your information, I think I know what is going on. The owner has a irrigation system and I believe he is changing zones to quickly. I think shallow watering would encourage the roots to surface. One day his system came on during our mowing. I remember it changed between zones in just a few minutes. This root is about 2” in diameter.

Wed I start another quarter in Horticulture and I’m very interested on options. I’m not sure if I would want to top dress it.

 

[treeclimber165]

Shallow watering will adversly affect virtually ALL the plant material in your customer's yard. When I had my lawn business many years ago, my biggest battle was convincing my customers to water longer and less often.