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When I moved in 4 years ago, I undid the sapling straps on the two maples up front in the smallish yard. I did not mulch them, just let them go and they have gone a bit crazy. They have gone up to 20-25 feet easily and one has a thickish trunk now. But the one tree has exposed roots growing at the house due to I assume it likes the run off from the rain which is over there. It has two roots with 4 foot exposure from soil and then one goes under the sidewalk. There is a slight incline away from the house so I'm sure some soil has eroded.
So my questions are: can mulching now help to get this under control? I've read up on this but was putting it off because I was concerned about edging on the roots which wouldn't look good. The canopy from both these trees is almost that whole section of yard so is mulching under the drip line ok?
Also since the trees are close together, would mulching them together make more sense? About 6 feet apart there wouldn't be much grass in between them. Anyway, any ideas appreciated.
Remove them. Maples are inappropriate for a small yard. They will just get bigger and cause increasing problems. Once they get much bigger, the cost of removal will be astronomical.
Mulching heavily around the base of a tree can cut off airflow to the roots and promote termite infestations.
There are plenty of dwarf stock trees that are much more appropriate.
I'd remove one maple, not both. They're fighting for water and such. By removing one, the other can flourish without being intrusive.
Higher an arborist to prune the tree. The roots will stay at bay if the crown is heavily pruned. It slows root growth. Only an expert should do this because it's important it be done properly.
Don't mulch. Mulch is evil. It's full of bacteria and bugs.
Unfortunately for you, maples are just one of those trees with really shallow roots. Too bad they are so beautiful! Yes, it does seem that taking out the tree closest to the house is a good idea.
Good maples do not "go crazy" they grow slowly and their roots are usually deep (depends on soils).
This has not been my experience at all - the maples I have had in my yard are all have many roots near the surface (and I was aware of this when planting). In the right area, it's not a problem.
Maples naturally have roots close to the surface as far as I know. All the different kinds I've had or seen do.
That said, some varieties are messier than others for landscaping. Silver maples, for example, just keep on growing and spreading. Planting these purposely in a yard really shouldn't happen, but they are cheap and fast so it does still happen.
If you're willing to take a chance you could actually cut some roots and see what happens. Depending upon other conditions a strong tree will survive that.
Two large trees so close together really isn't sustainable for the long run, I suspect. If you want to keep one I agree with Hopes, have one removed and the other pruned professionally. If roots are still an issue seek the arborist's opinion on that (hire an arborist who knows something about tree care, not just a plain tree removal service). If you keep both it's just going to be a bigger problem in the future.
Not in my area!
Yes, they grow slower than some other types of trees, but the roots do NOT go deep.... LOTS on the surface.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42
Maples naturally have roots close to the surface as far as I know. All the different kinds I've had or seen do.
They're more likely to have roots even closer to the surface in areas that don't get much rain.
We live in Pittsburgh, which gets much more rain than CHTransplant and love4hours get in NC.
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