How to reduce spread of roots?

[smudge1]

I have a job where the roots from an Oak are causing problems to the customers garage. In his email he suggested pruning the roots back which for obvious reasons im not going to advise.

What others ways could I solve the problem, I know pollarding may stop them spreading but its a large Oak and wouldn't really want to do that, would reducing it help....?

[sloth]

Pollarding or reducing will not stop or slow the roots growing. What sort of damage is being caused, direct or subsidence?

 

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[Maxnaggle]

i thought that if you pollard, or reduce a tree's canopy it would maintain a root to shoot ratio - meaning that there would be die back of the root system, obvs species depending??? I've had a quick scan on the web and found nothing tho

[Gary Prentice]

I think that idea stems from the theory that the fibrous roots -

That are continually being replaced, may grow at a lesser rate initially, but as the new growth, often with larger leaves and increased transpiration rates, gets established the growth rate returns to normal

[Marc Lewis]

Just out of interest, would the root growth rate slow or even stop if the tree was annually pruned?

[Maxnaggle]

interesting I'm sure i was taught that pollarding a tree was a suitable means for reducing the spread of a root system, and that a lapse pollard can be dangerous for similar reasons....

 

still can't find any info to verify this though

[Gary Prentice]

interesting I'm sure i was taught that pollarding a tree was a suitable means for reducing the spread of a root system, and that a lapse pollard can be dangerous for similar reasons....

 

still can't find any info to verify this though

 

Reducing and constraining are two different things. Small tree = low water uptake requirement = small root spread IF there is sufficient available water. Pollarding or topping a tree, I believe, reduces water uptake initially (lower transpiration levels due to less foliage) but an upsurge in latter years.

 

Spread of root system is probably due more to available moisture than canopy size - compare root systems of comparable trees on sandy /loam/clay soils.

[Graham]

Roots can't stay static. They are continually moving and growing in their effort to maintain water uptake. I suppose if it were continually pruned incremental growth would be reduced but not stopped.