Hey there! I am in central Texas and have a mostly barren yard. It's on a small slope though and there is a lot of erosion and stormwater runoff onto the road namely in the corners touching the sidewalk, which I want to reduce.
I'm worried about digging a wall or planting more straggler daisy, frog fruit, or other natives around the trees because live oaks have very shallow roots and in my research it seems like they need a minimum 6-foot clearance around them, so there should be minimal digging. There's already straggler daisy growing around them though. Are they shallow enough roots that they won't bother the tree? If I could plant them, the vegetation would help reduce erosion.
My other thought is to put a surface barrier like a garden wall. I probably cant do a full retaining wall because it requires digging and the slope isnt that steep. Do you guys have any advice? Will a surface wall (small garden barrier) help? Do I need to tear up the daisy and mulch around the trees to absorb water and prevent grass growing?
Thanks!
by Lokalock
2 Comments
The oaks will be fine with native plants around them. In the wild they absolutely do not have giant rings at their base free of vegetation.
Live oaks can be tricky since their roots are shallow and spread wide, so digging or building a retaining wall too close can stress them. A better approach is adding erosion-control groundcovers that tolerate shade and dry soil things like frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora), straggler daisy, or native sedges. They’ll knit the soil together and slow down runoff without disturbing the roots. You can also layer in mulch between plants to help hold moisture and prevent erosion. If you want extra reinforcement, a low surface barrier (like a short garden edging) can help redirect water without the heavy digging a full wall would need.
I mocked up a couple quick visuals [https://app.neighborbrite.com/s/_HKFDPNUZfm](https://app.neighborbrite.com/s/_HKFDPNUZfm)