Do you ever wonder how deep your tree roots grow?
Well if so, the growth of your tree roots is determined by a few simple factors. Roots need three things: oxygen, water, and low soil levels for root penetration. If all these stipulations are met, roots can grow to vast depths. Under perfect moisture and soil conditions, roots have been observed to raise well over 15 feet.
Early reports of tree roots from the 1930s, often working in easy-to-dig soils, showed images of trees with deep roots and root architecture that simulated the look of the top of the tree. The concept of a deeply-rooted tree became known as the standard root system for all trees. Future work on city trees that were put in soil that is compacted is more often had horizontal, shallow root systems.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAUrban tree specialists have effectively spent lots of energy trying to make folks realize that tree roots have a fundamentally horizontal orientation, to the point that even many tree experts now consider deep roots in trees are a myth. The truth is somewhere in between shallow roots and deep roots.
The most common limitations to tree rooting in urban areas are poor drainage and soil compaction. These are usually related, with a compaction layer making a badly-draining hardpan. This develops a perched water layer that restrains roots. Perched water tables and hardpans are also in nature. In fine-grained silty soils and fine-grained clay soils, pore space and rooting depth are frequently limited. Because these circumstances are often seen in urban areas, shallow-rooted trees are often thought of as usual. If you want to know if your tree roots are an issue, consult with us today.
Winter is their growing season
Some of our most common tree care services are clearing tree roots from sewer pipes and fixing the damage caused by the invasion of tree roots. The pipes that carry a home’s sewer waste away from the property and into the city sewage system are the most susceptible to the intrusion of tree roots. A tree’s roots can spread into the surrounding area up to three times the height of the tree and spread out with hair-like tentacles looking for nutrients and water from the soil. I’ve found tree roots coming up through the ground into my compost heap from a tree over 20 feet away!
In the winter, the tree looks undeveloped because it has shed its leaves and isn’t getting any energy from the sun. But it still requires water to live through the winter, so much of the tree’s energy is used growing its roots in search of oxygen and water. The roots are enticed by the water, oxygen, nutrients, and warmth found in underground sewer pipes and are sturdy enough to go through fissures, cracks, and joints in the pipeline.
