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The neighbor who lives behind our home has a medium ash tree (about 20 feet tall) that is growing right next to the fence. I noticed that there is a piece of the root coming from the tree into our backyard/under the fence (2 feet long and a diameter of 2-3 inches) that is exposed. Once it grows a little and the diameter of the root gets larger, it will hit and damage the fence.
From what I know about this neighbor, they are not the type of folks who would care about the tree, our fence or be open to discussing taking care of the root.
What is the best method to make sure the root does not damage our back fence?
We have the same thing, but we just ignore it. The fence and the root both seem to be ok. If at some point we want to, we can, and will saw off the offending root and the neighbors won’t know.
You can cut the root... or better yet you can cut away the bottom of the fence. This will be a pretty slow-developing problem. You can watch it and see what, if anything needs to be done.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We have that in the back, I just cut a little notch in the bottom of the fence to keep the root from damaging it. You cannot cut the root before the fence without trespassing.
As noted in the article, to cut buttress roots without damaging the tree or its stability is a job for a professional. Many tree pruning companies employ professional arborists.
No, but it could unbalance it. An unbalanced tree might tip over - possibly onto your side.
Cut a notch into the fence.
Do you seriously believe that cutting off one single, small lateral surface root of only 2 - 3 inches in diameter, out of the dozens or more of other lateral roots all spreading out from the same tree that is only 20 feet tall, might unbalance the whole tree and cause it to tip over?
I don't believe it's possible for one small removed root to bring down a tree. I'd cut off that one root and the tree will compensate for the loss of that one root by growing several more roots.
I don't think the OP should have to be the one to roll over and compromise and alter and ruin the integrity of his own fence and property to accomodate the lateral growth of an encroaching root from a neighbour's tree. If the root is allowed to continue to grow laterally across his property it will get bigger and bigger and impose further and further into his property. It may cause much more structural damage and buckling to his grounds, utility/water/gas lines, sidewalks, plantings, house foundation and other parts of the property further down the road in time. Putting a notch in a fence to accomodate an invasive root is not going to prevent all that other potential future damage.
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