Tree Roots Going To My House

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llO0DQLE
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Tree Roots Going To My House

Post by llO0DQLE » October 17th, 2018, 6:25 pm

I have all these bumps in my lawn that I thought were just from general unevennes resulting possibly from frost heaves. On a whim, I decided to poke one spot and see if there was something underneath as it felt quite hard underneath. I discovered these surface roots just several inches under the surface leading to my Columnar Aspens. The spot I dug up is about 20 feet from the trees along my back fence and about halfway towards my house. The root network seems to be quite extensive and the roots are thick. I'm worried that it will mess up my house's foundation. I have 8 of these trees all along my back fence and they're about 40 feet tall and are 10 years old. What should I do about this?
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    TimmyG
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by TimmyG » October 17th, 2018, 7:03 pm

    I can't offer any opinion regarding your foundation, but know that aspens (a.k.a. poplars) have extensive root systems that sprout new trees. From MissouriBotanicalGarden.org, "In the wild, aspens typically appear in groupings or groves, with all of the stems in a grouping being clones rising from a single extensive underground root system. Large groves featuring hundreds of clones may have all originated from a single stem." I have progressively been battling such a grove in my wetland associated with one massive tree, with some clones more than 50 feet away.

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    llO0DQLE
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by llO0DQLE » October 18th, 2018, 2:44 pm

    Yes, the extensive network and new suckers growing from them is exactly what I'm worried about. I was worried that if I started chopping them off they may grow more stems. I was told Garlon is a product used to kill the roots but I don't know if I could get my hands on that. I think I will try to dig up as much as I can without breaking it all apart and trace it back to the trunk and cut it close to the trunk. I will try to keep the root as intact as possible so as not to nick and encourage suckers to shoot up. I'm concerned about any sections going under my deck as I can't get to those.

    TimmyG
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by TimmyG » October 24th, 2018, 12:19 am

    Acknowledge the challenge you've accepted: Pando

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    llO0DQLE
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by llO0DQLE » November 8th, 2018, 9:46 pm

    I was gonna post pics of the roots, I'll see if I can still find some. I think I deleted them from my phone because I needed the memory. In any case, it was more trouble than it was worth in terms of lopping them off due to them making my lawn bumpy. It was an extensive network with roots going every which way and I did way more damage to the lawn than the minor bump here and there that I felt when walking the lawn. I think I will need to do a major levelling job next year and either seed or sod the area I damaged.


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    llO0DQLE
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by llO0DQLE » November 8th, 2018, 9:49 pm

    Holy moly 43 hectares from technically one tree! lol I actually don't mind the trees themselves. They make a nice swooshing sound in the wind. I've spent some time thinking about my "problem" and decided not to fight nature and just live with the minor bumps in the lawn. After all, it's just grass. Heresy I know. But digging those roots out was back breaking work.

    TimmyG
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by TimmyG » November 8th, 2018, 11:20 pm

    Yeah, you were nuts thinking that could be a solution. Ambitious!

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    llO0DQLE
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by llO0DQLE » November 8th, 2018, 11:39 pm

    lol I dug up the one root, kept tracing it and it just bugged me too much that I kept going until I got too exhausted and had to give up.

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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by bpgreen » November 9th, 2018, 10:27 pm

    I hate aspens. They've got a place, but it's not in the valley. They don't do well here, but they refuse to die.

    I had one in my lawn that blew over in a windstorm. The main tree was pulled out, but there were still roots. So it went into full-on survival mode and started sprouting up all over the place. I keep hoping I'll kill off all the remnants, but I know it's futile.

    They're beautiful in the mountains where they belong.

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    llO0DQLE
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    Re: Tree Roots Going To My House

    Post by llO0DQLE » November 12th, 2018, 2:37 am

    You didn't try Round Up? I've also read of Triclopyr beinf used.

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