Tree roots - can I cut them at all?

 


20+ years ago I planted a silver birch sapling which is now a beautul
mature
tree and the pride of my garden.

At the same time I laid a york stone patio right next to it.
Unfortunately (if
not surprisingly!) the tree roots have lifted and
tilted several of the
flagstones to the point that the patio is
positively dangerous & needs to be
re-laid

Can I cut back problem roots from the birch at all?? or do I have to
raise the
whole patio by the three inches necessary to clear them???

Any advice gratefully received




--
Steve Kind

 

On Wed, 2 Jun 2010 07:07:47 -0400, Steve Kind


I'd shift the patio over to accomodate the tree.  Do not pile dirt on
the root area or you will kill the tree.

 

The roots cannot be cut without risking death to the tree.  You could raise the
entire patio but the problem near the tree is likely to re-emerge.  Why not just
remove the raised flagstones and substitute a planter or bench or something?

    Una

 


Thanks for the replies - I strongly suspected that root surgery was not
an
option! but raising the patio is going to be a BIG job -
unfortunately,
replacing the affected flags with benches / planters etc.
won't do the job -
about 20% of the flags have lifted to some extent
along two differnt lines.
Might be able to remove a couple of flags
closest to the tree. Likewise, moving
the patio is not an option - it is
trapped between the tree and a wall on the
south, the house on the
northe, a wall on the west and the conservatory on the
east!!

If I do raise the whole patio it will involve a 3-inch layer of sand
accross the
whole area - I'm a bit disturbed by the suggestion that this
might in itself
damage the tree :( I'm pretty certain the tree now has
it's full growth and no
further movement of the patio surface has taken
place for a couple of years.




--
Steve Kind

 

[...]

The roots in question are in sand (?) under flagstones already, so no
big risk there.

How about lifting the flagstones that are raised, trimming them to
better accomodate the roots, and putting them back down again?  Done
that way, you can do one flagstone at a time.

Care to share photos of this project?

    Una