Garden Tip: From my post yesterday showing the odd surface roots of an American elm tree, let me address something that came up several times in your comments. COVERING ROOTS IS NOT A GOOD PLAN. You are welcome to take that upper-case message to HOAs, spouses – wherever you wish. I gave it all the drama that Facebook allows. If 90 percent of a tree’s roots are in the top foot of soil, when you add soil across them, they will merely grow up and out of it. You’ll be right back where you started, just several inches higher in elevation. How many times are you willing to repeat that process? The better solution might be to remove one or two roots per year for short-term relief. Fall is the best time to do so, and you never want to remove major roots (larger than 2 inches in diameter) without having a certified arborist working alongside you. At some point, as the shade gets denser, you’ll need to switch over to a shade-tolerant groundcover. (Please see my Notes on this page for lots more information on coping with shade.)
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 15:08:05 +0000
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