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| Hello all, I have a old, large oak tree along the street in the front of my house that I don't want to damage in doing some other landscapping. Here's a pic of a shrub I want to remove:
The problem is the oak tree has a root the encompases about 1/3 or ground below that shrub:
Before I discovered the root my plan was to simply take out the shrub and plant some grass there. Now that I've discovered the root I'm not sure what to do. Can I remove that root without damaging the oak tree? If not, the only other idea I have is to plant a smaller more attractive tree in place of the shrub and create a circular border containing the root. If that's the route I have to go, any suggestions for what type of tree to plant there that won't impact my ability to grow a healthy lawn? Thanks in advance. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by greenthumbzdude 6 (My Page) on Tue, May 1, 12 at 14:12
| Just put a few inches of topsoil on the root and seed it with your grass mix. If you remove it, it might cause stability issues with the tree. This may cause it to fall over in high winds, ect. |
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| Sounds good. I didn't realize seeding on top of the root would be an options. Thanks |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, May 1, 12 at 21:57
| Just go easy on the fill, KMack. All things in moderation still works in the vast majority of cases. You shouldn't need to do much filling over that little area. And that big tree will hardly notice you were there! But yeah, don't cut the root(s) off! +oM |
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| I'm surprised an oak would have a root sticking up like that. Anyway what about a shade loving groundcover? Grass may not be as good as groundcover because you will have to mow over these roots with grass. It's your choice but something like Ajuga, creeping Jenny, barren raspberry ( I think that's the name ) even Columbine if you get enough rain. There are lots of others out there. You can avoid the roots and trunk of your tree. I have most of my trees with groundcovers under them once they get big enough to provide shade to the plants. Just an idea. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, May 2, 12 at 8:35
| first.. sharpen your shovel.. and get your tree saw ... cut everything off the shrub.. leaving some good trunks for leverage ... start digging around the shrub about 2 feet out.. it will be miserable work ... avoid the oak root ... get the plastic out of there ... get the shrub out.. then take a few more pix.. and we can come to some realistic suggestions about what to do with the area ... i dont know why you would put a circle there ... maybe a quarter circle .. using the drive and the sidewalk ... and please do not replace that plastic carp ... its menial labor.. but someone has to do it ... because for sure.. that ugly thing.. has to go ... ken |
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| Thanks for all of the advice. It's not a large area of my yard, so I can try grass this fall and if that fails consider a ground cover. Thanks again |
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| Hey Ken, I didn't see your post before. That plastic stuff was all over the yard, front and back. Anything that was planted was surrounded by it. I took it all out in the back and planted some arborvitae this past fall, which thanks to this forum, are doing well. The front needs more work, but I will definitely start by getting rid of those shrubs and anything plastic. I'll post some pics after the shrubs are gone. |
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