This path has become a huge liability at my house due to how uneven the pavers are. It was put in about 25 years ago at this point and is clearly in need of being redone. The tree’s roots have grown under the stones and caused the misalignment. We love this tree and we really don’t want to cut it down, but that’s the advice we’ve been given in order to permanently fix this path. It seems like such a waste of a tree to cut it down just for 11 out of place pavers 🙁 Is there anything we can do?
by TryDesigner9200
17 Comments
I would cut those roots. I’m sure there are many others that will support that tree
It’s sort-of an either-or proposition; you can either do nothing to the roots and the pavers will keep being effected or you can cut the root/remove the tree to have a stable base for the pavers. Unfortunately, as long as the tree is there, there is always a change the roots will continue to effect the pavers.
Add a step at the start of the pavers and rase up the whole path. I am one to support the trees. We don’t build around and accommodate nature enough.
Raise the path
I advocate for building a bridge over the tree root because how awesome would your front yard be with a bridge.
Can you shift the path several feet away from the tree?
Raise it higher
Raised walkway
What about a gravel or wood chip path instead?
Move the path. But I also think the person that suggested a bridge is on to something
As a paver installer, roots under 3″ in diameter are generally ok to remove. Anything over 3″ in diameter you should consult an arborist before removing any roots. Do not remove large roots without an arborist approval.
If you are able to remove the roots then cut them out, and you can do a little lift and reset to the pavers. You can also install a root barrier along the sides of the pathway to prevent this from happening again. If you are not able to remove the roots, then I don’t know, redirect the pathway or build a step over the roots.
Nothing. Gotta cut the roots out. Will it kill the tree? Prob not. But It’ll continue to be a problem no matter what you do anyway. Can’t make the pavers perfect without pulling it all and relaying it all. It looks like you can but you can’t. You can get it pretty good without pulling it all but not perfect.
Raised boardwalk path with a mass one species native woodland understory groundcover like a fern or sedge. Throw in some native spring bulbs in late fall.
You could grind down the pavers.
Add a step. But someone said it already. You can do a lot of things …
Some alternatives without killing the tree to think about (https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/root-prune-guidelines.shtml )
– curve the sidewalk around the surface roots
– elevate the walk over the roots
– build the structure elsewhere
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This question might be better for r/arborists than landscaping and they’ll tell you to get off reddit and talk to a real life person that can do a local assessment. In one of your replies you said that a certified arborist told you that cutting those roots will kill the tree.
Are you looking for permission from random people on reddit to cut the roots like you wanted to do? People can tell you it’s safe, and it might make you feel better now, but are those people going to pay your insurance when/if the tree goes down?
None of the people telling you to cut the roots seem to be arborists and neither am I. But I can google and find legit companies that say not to cut any root over 2” thick and those roots look way thicker and way closer to the tree than what’s recommended safe for removing roots.
More info on removing roots safely (your case does NOT seem to be safe for the tree):
https://blog.davey.com/removing-tree-roots-above-ground-will-it-harm-or-kill-the-tree/
> Find the root posing an issue and measure its diameter. If it is less than 2″, it is okay to cut as long as the total root loss will not add up to more than 15% of the surface roots.
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> Measure the diameter of your tree. Wrap a measuring tape around the tree, four feet from the tree’s base. Then, divide that number by 3.14. Generally, you can safely prune roots that are 5 times the diameter away from your tree. So, if your tree has a diameter of 3 feet, only cut tree roots 15 feet away from the tree.
Those look like thick pavers, if you are handy enough you could potentially cut the protruding pavers into thinner pavers. Or you could remove them and fill in the gaps with a gravel, though it wouldn’t look great.