Any way to save old tree as well as my yard?

[massaira]

Hello all,
I've posted before about my plans to restore an Ottoman era house in Greece and am thankful for the valuable advice I've found in this forum...facing a tough dilemma now and thought maybe someone here has an idea of a way out...I have a small yard with a beautiful large magnolia tree...unfortunately it seems the roots are pushing up the yard cement tiles and even cracked a marble plaque at the entrance of the house (so far there is no sign of elevation inside the house). I've been in the house six months now and there is a line of tiles from the tree to the house that are visibly more elevated than before - also rain water can't flow where it should in order to drain because of this hump. Architect mentioned cutting the tree down, had a gardener come round today, only thing he offered to do is prune the tree next spring but nothing he can do about the roots, also mentioned he'd cut it down if he were me. The yard will be retiled because the overall inclination and water draining is not great but not sure how long it would last before more humps appear. I've read magnolia tree roots grow horizontally close to the surface and should be planted about 50 feet away from a house, mine is about 3 feet away from my entrance! Wondering if there is a way to block the roots from going towards the house, any way to make the tree behave?! Also thinking about alternatives to tiles, just soil wouldn't work as my entrance is the same level as the yard, also thought to replace this line of tiles with a metal grid that would be easier to remove and put in place again... I think there is also the possibility of the opposite problem if the tree is cut and the ground perhaps sinks?... Perhaps a silly question, but really love this tree and also feel I don't have the right to, is there any way to keep it and save my tiled floor? Or if cutting it proves inevitable is there another shade providing tree that would not cause such problems at such short distance to the house? Thank you for reading on!

 

[Cubist]

Hi There,

It's a damn shame, I do wish that people would be much more careful in the planting of trees and shrubs near buildings. Magnolia is a fast growing and shallow rooting tree that should never be planted in such positions. Sadly I think you only have one chance to save yours and its a high risk and potentially fatal strategy come what may. This would involve lifting the damaged/elevated tiles and unearthing the root causing the problem and cutting it completely through 3-6 feet from the trunk and disposing of the excised part ahead of relaying the terrace. Theres never a good time to do this in my view and the remaining root will likely bleed profusely when first cut. You must apply a tree paint to help prevent infections that may kill the tree. At the very least the tree will suffer quite badly and there will be significant leaf and bud loss in the first year or so afterwards.

Whilst this would be my preferred approach - I always would want to save the tree - you would be wise to look up at the main limbs and boughs above ground as the length and scale of these will give you an indication of what the root structure may extend to. Sadly you may find that other parts of your, or worse your neighbours, property may be threatened and it may therefore be best to cut it down. However, depending on the variety of magnolia simply cutting it down may not be the finish of the job. The tree may survive the shock and begin sprouting vigorously next year and as a consequence the root structure will continue to thrive and grow. Unfortunately if you decide to cut it down you should also either excise the main roots or use a systemic weedkiller like Roundup to finish the job. Its also worth remembering that if the main roots are not excised and removed as well theres a strong chance that other parts of the terrace may subside as the root rots down.

Sorry I can t be of more help,
Good luck, Cubist

 

[fernicarry]

had a gardener come round today, only thing he offered to do is prune the tree next spring but nothing he can do about the roots

In this climate magnolia should be pruned late summer. Maybe different in the Med. Pruning in spring usually encourages vigorous regrowth which is pretty much what you want to avoid in your case.

We have a magnolia only 6ft or so from the side of the house that is a good 5m+ height and spread but we seem to get away with it. It gets a pretty serious reduction in size every few years, like 1/4 - 1/3 of the top growth removed. If you manage to get yours under control then you may be able to keep it that way and continue enjoying it.

Fun fact, magnolias evolved when the dinosaurs were still alive!

 

[massaira]

Hi There,

It's a damn shame, I do wish that people would be much more careful in the planting of trees and shrubs near buildings. Magnolia is a fast growing and shallow rooting tree that should never be planted in such positions. Sadly I think you only have one chance to save yours and its a high risk and potentially fatal strategy come what may. This would involve lifting the damaged/elevated tiles and unearthing the root causing the problem and cutting it completely through 3-6 feet from the trunk and disposing of the excised part ahead of relaying the terrace. Theres never a good time to do this in my view and the remaining root will likely bleed profusely when first cut. You must apply a tree paint to help prevent infections that may kill the tree. At the very least the tree will suffer quite badly and there will be significant leaf and bud loss in the first year or so afterwards.

Whilst this would be my preferred approach - I always would want to save the tree - you would be wise to look up at the main limbs and boughs above ground as the length and scale of these will give you an indication of what the root structure may extend to. Sadly you may find that other parts of your, or worse your neighbours, property may be threatened and it may therefore be best to cut it down. However, depending on the variety of magnolia simply cutting it down may not be the finish of the job. The tree may survive the shock and begin sprouting vigorously next year and as a consequence the root structure will continue to thrive and grow. Unfortunately if you decide to cut it down you should also either excise the main roots or use a systemic weedkiller like Roundup to finish the job. Its also worth remembering that if the main roots are not excised and removed as well theres a strong chance that other parts of the terrace may subside as the root rots down.

Sorry I can t be of more help,
Good luck, Cubist

Thank you so much,
actually you have helped a lot as I was making such thoughts and was surprised that the gardener did not offer any solutions... have also read about root barriers and wondering if these would work on an already established tree as opposed to a newly planted one... In any case you reply encourages me to keep looking for someone with more knowledge, especially as I agree cutting it down has disadvantages emotional aspect aside...

 

[massaira]

In this climate magnolia should be pruned late summer. Maybe different in the Med. Pruning in spring usually encourages vigorous regrowth which is pretty much what you want to avoid in your case.

We have a magnolia only 6ft or so from the side of the house that is a good 5m+ height and spread but we seem to get away with it. It gets a pretty serious reduction in size every few years, like 1/4 - 1/3 of the top growth removed. If you manage to get yours under control then you may be able to keep it that way and continue enjoying it.

Fun fact, magnolias evolved when the dinosaurs were still alive!

Thank you so much,
actually we are in a very similar situation as my tree is a similar size to yours, I was actually surprised I was not offered such a solution so your answer encourages me to look for someone with more knowledge...may our magnolias continue to bloom in good health

 

[88v8]

Magnolias were sometimes planted as wall plants so that is not necessarily a problem. When we had an extension built on our previous house there was a mature prunus tree near the corner, so we made an indent to allow for the tree. It was about 3ft from the wall, but in that case we made the foundations five feet deep.

It depends how deep the house foundations are, if they are shallow and the roots can go under then I would want to make a root barrier and this may involve cutting existing roots.

As regards the tiles, can you replace some or all with gravel?

I too would go a long way to avoid cutting down a mature tree, especially a shade tree. Mature trees represent the one thing that money cannot buy... time.
Some suggestions here that are said to have benign roots.

 

[a twig]

There are companies like this that will move a mature tree with good results