How to cover exposed oak tree roots? (Live Oak: living, yard)

[jkp83]

We were having our trees trimmed today and the landscaper noticed our oak tree has many exposed roots. It takes up almost the whole yard. We are planning on laying sod in the fall and the landscaper said we could cover the roots with the sod. I thought covering exposed tree roots will suffocate the tree? Any advice or insight would be great.

[OpenD]

They need light cover at most. Covering them with a lot of dirt won't suffocate them, but it can prevent them from getting the water they need. The best choice is to mulch around them, out to half or two thirds of the span of their branches.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by OpenD

They need light cover at most. Covering them with a lot of dirt won't suffocate them, but it can prevent them from getting the water they need. The best choice is to mulch around them, out to half or two thirds of the span of their branches.

Yep...I've seen many local expert recommendations suggesting NO sod from the trunk to within a few feet of the drip line. Mulch would compete less for the water than sod or living ground cover. We have jasmine around some of our Live Oaks, but if it ever died back, I'd not replace it with anything that would take water and nutrients from the tree.

[G Grasshopper]

I JUST saw this question on Central Texas Gardener. Daphny said that you should cover them with a couple of inches of mulch to protect them. She said that you can plant over them, but you would have to be careful not to damage them when digging. You might look up CTG to see if you can view past shows. I think it was late May. I'm trying to figure this out myself, but I have no plans for laying sod, as I am trying to get away from the lawn thing, and go to natives and xeriscapes.

[jkp83]

Thanks for the info. I'm thinking of laying a mulch ring around the bottom or the tree about 2-3 feet from the trunk to cover most of the roots and then laying zoysia sod. I too am trying to stay away from too much grass, but I want some. We are trying to use all native plants as well to take up most of the yard space.

[BJB817]

We actually took the step of having some substantial exposed roots on our live oaks removed this last winter. I didn't realize this could safely be done, but the arborist we used told us that it could be done without harming the tree. Apparently it just needs to be done during winter dormancy.

So far, so good. The trees put on new growth this spring and seem to be doing well.

The issue in your case is time. My understanding that if such root removal is done during the growing season, it could place too much stress on the tree. If you're willing/able to wait until spring, then this may be an option to consider.

The company we used was Central Texas Tree care. They also did some tree trimming for us. We were very satisfied overall.