Root pruning

[Amelanchier]

Anyone do much root pruning?

 

I've specified it a couple of times and subsequently been involved in a purely supervisory role (i.e., finger pointing, shouting over compressors and making friends).

 

I hardly ever hear of it being specified or recommended by others, so I was just wondering what the wider view was.

[Steve Bullman]

Ive suggested it on occassion but not had any takers.....i think its something thats hard to sell, much like root feeding etc....if people cant see it they tend not to be bothered about spending money on it.

just my view.

not sure if id want to get involved with that side of things though personally.

[Lee Winger]

Anyone do much root pruning?

 

I've specified it a couple of times and subsequently been involved in a purely supervisory role (i.e., finger pointing, shouting over compressors and making friends).

 

I hardly ever hear of it being specified or recommended by others, so I was just wondering what the wider view was.

 

 

Root pruning is essential on development sites, I mean whats the point of putting up tree protection then have some guy dig a footing with an excavator and pull the roots up to inside the tree protection zone!

 

IMO consultants and tree officers should be working together to make sure root pruning is carried out IMO.

 

I have an air-spade which IMO is the ideal tool for root pruning operations oh and a set of sharp hefty loppers, but so far in my career I've only root pruned on 3 occasions..

[RobinTree]

I've worked on a lot of big transplants (8'-15' rootballs) and they involve lots of root pruning. On several occasions we root pruned annually for a couple years before the move. Some nurseries I know about routinely root prune all their stock so when it comes time to sell they don't have to get rid of so much soil. We also did root pruning to prevent construction damage as mentioned before. Razor sharp nursery spades, big loppers, dust brushes, and chainsaws(yeah we cut some big roots sometimes). I've never used an air spade. What are the advantages of it?

[Lee Winger]

Large volume of non impact soil removal, thats the advantage of an air spade

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QcCHj4BaYQ

[Lee Winger]

And some more info http://www.air-spade.com/market_arboriculture.html

[Yorkshireman]

recently we were involved in root prunning works were Again as lee mentions a digger operator dug a trench through several rp's mature tpo'd oaks

 

To date thats its it as steve says it is not a routine operation.

& rightly so, in some case, as it is direct route for pathogens to enter the vascular system, so must be undertaken only in extereme cases imo where damage has already occured.

soil decompaction, root feeding & or root barrier membranes can resolve many issues, without the need for invasive root prunning.

only my opinion for what its worth!

[Amelanchier]

I concur. The clients that have accepted the root pruning recommendations have either had deep pockets or crazed tree officers breathing down their necks. We've used it to pre-empt the digger drivers though.

[David Humphries]

Interesting case last week.

 

One of our 'rogue' roots has been implicated in the structural damage to a 100 year old listed wall.

 

The root has been hand excavated by the contractor to prove its presence and we agreed to the severing of said root at the point of the boundary line between the two properties (which oddly enough is not the wall) .

 

we may agree a root barrier depending on the results of further root investigation.

 

 

.

[Gary Prentice]

Will you be monitoring the affect of this. It looks a fair size to be severing.