We moved into our house a few years (5) back & the look of the tree (Canadian Maple) in the front yard has always bugged me. We had an arborist (certified) check it out to make sure there wasn’t a strangulation hazard, who also did some root pruning. We have not covered the roots with anything – all the growth was from prior owners.
My first attempt at trying to improve the ascetics was to plant hostas to try to screen some of the root mass – but as you can see from the images, they’re losing the nutrient battle to the tree.
Since the yard slopes, the thinking now is that building a wall around the tree (6” at the back will carry to a maximum height of 16” in the front) will provide the hostas with enough separation from the roots to actually have a chance to survive. (If it is hard to judge the height, those are 3’ walkway pavers leaning against the tree)
My fear is that in backfilling the wall with top soil, I will just be encouraging the roots to keep growing above ground, making this mess worse. My questions for the experts here are:
Am I over thinking this – will the root mass get worse if I build the wall?!?
Would a barrier of rocks between the roots & top soil work/help?!? (Not much of a fan of burying plastic, but if a weed barrier is the best option, I’m open to that idea)
Is there another idea you have that would help clean up the aesthetics of this?!?
by chef_salgy
33 Comments
Covering the exposed roots with soil will greatly weaken the tree and increase the likelihood of it falling over in a storm
No wall.
I like the roots. Those cables tied to it are much shittier looking
Post on r/arborists. I believe these are girdle roots and you don’t want to cover them.
A wall promotes water retention. This may stress the tree and promote fungal issues.
You hired a certified arborist but came to reddit to get validation for a bad idea.
What about building a wide wrap around bench. No harm to the tree, add some plants on the bench to draw eye away from the roots.
Why not just leave it?
Roots are good, don’t cover them or harms the tree.
first of all, who cares about the hostas compared to a big, beautiful, shade-providing, life-improving tree?
So many dead dinosaurs… 💔
I would plant some shrubs around it not too close and as they grew up at least from a distance, they would hide all those roots and then just keep the shrubs trimmed.
Chaining your dog up is an even worse idea
Like everyone else here, the suggestion is to leave the exposed root flare. If you really want more balance you could expose some more and widen that area, but really just leaving it alone will help it sort itself out. Good job taking down the volcano!
If you’re trying to kill the tree, leaning stone on it and tying dog leashes to it is a good start.
A round bench would hide all of that and still give the tree the space and air it needs. [this sort of thing](https://www.wooden-workshop.co.uk/product/round-tree-bench/)
Mulch volcanos are very bad for trees. Google it and you’ll see why. You can also post this in r/arborists
They will roast you to high heavens, but it’ll give you validations that a mulch volcano is a terrible idea. Just leave this tree alone.
Now that is one heck of a root flair
the cool tree roots catching strays for the rest of the bad yard
I’d dig out a minimum of 3′ of lawn, move the dog cable elsewhere so dog cannot trample the plants and plant large varieties of hostas, 2-4′ tall ferns and so on in the new part. There are hostas that get up to 4′ tall, you don’t have to go that far though. Keep the small ones to fill in. That will hide the ugly part of the root flare as the plants and foliage spread as they mature.
It’s not the tree that’s keeping the hostas from thriving, it’s getting squeezed into too small a space plus damage from mowing/edging and the dog’s runner cable and dog is mostly likely doing some trampling.
I say kill the tree and plant a new one. That one is ugly and would bother me too if it was my property. This sub wants everything in its natural state but you can give life to something new and beautiful and stop throwing money at what looks like an unsolvable aesthetics issue
Fell the tree, grind out the rots and stump and start anew. You are forgetting you are not seeing the extended root network that likely grows toward your homes foundation and sidewalks. I do not live there so I do not know how far the tree is from your home. Nevertheless trees should never be planted next to a home bad idea all around.
Also note if the tree ever falls from a storm or a branch sheers off and falls on your home, car, child or whatever its likely going to cause instant death, and a very big headache insurance and to your pocket book.
Best wishes!
Oh god this tree is getting strangled. You need a certified arborist
Keep the roots cleared and leave it alone, it’s beautiful as it is. Why is everyone so eager to cover up nature?
Looks like a bonsai tree. Leave it like it is.
This tree needs to come down. That’s easily one of the worst stem girdling root systems Ive ever seen in my quarter century of working in green industry.
The roots are cool. Build a much larger bed around it that leaves the roots exposed but sets it off and formalizes it.
Don’t cover up the roots if that’s what you’re asking for, it looks great as is and is potentially harmful to the tree to cover. Embrace the fact the tree grew and is surviving its own unique way. Using it as a storage pit, a tie off point for dogs and having a giant rubbish bin are far bigger eyesores.
I am concerned about the large split at the base though, seems there are signs of potential rot damage, probably from when it was previously covered, I’d consider getting an arborist back out there again at some point.
You sure the hosta are loosing a “nutrient battle” and not being trampled to death?
Cut it down start over
What kind of hostas?
Filling in around the base of the tree and covering the root crown with Soil is a bad idea. When it comes to the root crown fill kills.
Talk to your arborist about this before you start building Walls and filling it in with Soil
Have the tree removed and plant a new one in its place?