Surface Roots

[mtate]

A. Rubrum "Red Sunset"
Zelkova "Village Green" or "Green Vase"

I've read conflicting reports about surface roots for these trees, and whether or not heaving pavement will be a problem. I was considering both for a front lawn. Will they have them, and if so, is it when the tree is only a few years old that this begins or will it be after many, many years?

Thanks for the great advice!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

All red maple have high surface roots to a certain extent. Zelkova I have seen oly a few times.

above surface rooting and heaving of hardscape are due to several factors.

species
proximity of hardscape
engineering of hardscape
irrigation method in landscape
soil quailty and depth to hard layers

One can plant the tree bare root, or break up the ball and manualy place/direct woody roots away from hardscape.

till/amend soil deeply so it will remain pourouse.

refrain from frequent short duration irrigation, use methods that insure deep penetration of applied water.

engineer hardscapes to withstand pressure from root growth, and use deep pourouse bedding that tree roots can penetrate.

 

[mtate]

In particular the species I'm talking about is the Red Sunset maple, which is supposed to not have as much problem with roots at the surface of the lawn. Also, I don't have an irrigation system, just a simple lawn. One tree will be about 30 feet from the front door and the other only about 15 feet from the foundation of the house. Am I asking for trouble?
Thanks!

 

[mtate]

Oh yeah, forgot one other thing. The red sunsets would be b&b. When I asked all of the nursery men I spoke to if they would remove the burlap, they said they will not even remove the cage surrounding it. They also said that if I insisted, they would not do the job. Since I'm looking at 3 caliper, I don't think I would be able to wrestle it into the ground myself, and I can't take the chance of messing it up for the price of the trees.

 

[treeclimber165]

Burlap made of natural fibers will rot away within a couple months, and will not harm the roots. Synthetic fibers, incluting the white plastic twine they use to tie the B&B together will never rot and can girdle or cut roots or trunk in the future. Same with the wire basket, although typical installation with the baskets is to set the root ball in the hole and cut off the top half of the wire basket with bolt cutters.
The reason these guys may be giving you a hard time is because they don't have enough dollars of profit in the two trees to cover the 2-3 lost man hours while you instruct them how to plant the trees. They have a certain amount of time built into the price and they plant every one the same way.
One possibility is to let them plant the trees, and then dig around them after they leave and remove any synthetic twine and cut off as much of the wire as possible. Then recover with dirt without burying the trunk.

15' from the house or other concrete should be fine, although I am not familiar with northern trees or soils.

 

[mtate]

Thanks Brian, I guess I'll have to keep a watchful eye. They must be responsible enough to at least cut off the top of the cage, as you stated. Will I have surface roots that will ruin the front lawn? I had an older silver maple, and the roots ran all over. Wherever they ran, I had no grass. I now need to add topsoil and reseed.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Red sunset is a cultivated varriety of red maple, or Acer rubrum. They've cultivated it to have good fall color.

If you water your lawn, you irrigate. Sort duration use of sprinlers does not allow water to penetrate deep enough, this is why we get so many shallow surface roots in landscapes. Slow longterm irrigation, or deep mechanical irrigation will penetrate and allow roots to grow deeper.

In short, root will grow where there is water. If it is only in the top inch or so of soil....

Studies have shown that natural burlap may not braek down in many soils. it is best to cut it away or roll it down and burry it.

Trees loose about 90% of the root system durring harvest. Studies hev shown that smaller trees can recover from this faster then large trees. 1 inch trees over took 4 inch trees in a few years time. So the instant gratification of a larger tree is a false economy in the not so long term.

Attached is a paper I've been working on, need to get some pictures for it.

 

[mtate]

I know I'm a little slow on the uptake here, please bear with me . . . If the tree is b&b, then it's not actually being harvested and subjected to loss/breakage of roots, is it? Unless this was done recently, would it have had time to recover? How long does the tree live in its burlap home?
I would like to read your paper, can't find attachment?

 

[FBerkel]

You can get b&b trees either field direct (dug within a day or so) or from "the yard", i.e. dug previously. The yard trees are "healed in", which means covered in mulch and irrigated. These trees start to develope new absorbing roots, and these eventually penetrate the burlap if healed in too long. The best chances of success occur when you dig the tree in the early spring, heal it in for a few weeks, and plant in spring during cool, moist weather. Some trees sit in some nurseries for more than one season, and have huge roots extending out into the mulch. These should be avoided, unless you have an arborist plant them for you.

JPS: Roots also come to the surface for lack of oxygen, esp. in high clay soils. So you're right, either way: frequent watering creates a barrier preventing aeration at lower depths, and the roots come up for air, too.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

JPS, if the soil conditions are so bad that burlap won't break down, what make you think a tree can grow there???

 

[mikey]

Hi Mtate,If planted correctly,You should be very pleased with a red maple as compared to a silver.The major nurseys in my area do not carry silver maples due to the root problem(you have encountered) and because they grow very fast, problems of frequent limbs breaking also occur.The red does not grow as fast but,imo,is a much better tree.I always cut the burlap away before I set er in the hole.Happy planting.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I'm just quoting studies.

Now go to this site and look for "on stem girdling roots. It's a word.doc.

http://home.wi.rr.com/sanbornstrees/