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You are here: Experts > Homework Help > Trees > Trees > dogwood tree roots
Trees - dogwood tree roots
Expert: Jim Hyland - 8/10/2008
Question
QUESTION: We have several dogwood trees on west side of house next to
a sidewalk. It appears that the sidewalk is rising. Could the dogwood trees' roots be causing the sidewalk to rise? Should we remove the tree that is causing the most damage to the sidewalk?
ANSWER: Dogwood trees are not known to damage sidewalks. Any tree if planted too close to the sidewalk could case some damage. Generally the tree should be more than 3-5 feet from the walkway. I would not cut the tree but when and if the damage gets too bad (causing folks to trip on the cement) I would repair the walk and keep the tree.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Next to the dogwood tree is am 8-9 year old cedar. It is sparse but about 12
feet tall. Could this be causing the rising of the sidewalk rather than the
dogwood tree?
Thanks
Answer
I would not think so but if either tree is close (3-5 feet) to the sidewalk they maybe the cause of the "rising". Any damage to a walk will be a slow process that will take many years to cause enough problems to think about repairing the walk. If the tree are away from the walk --5 feet or so you can install a root barrier along the walk which will keep the roots for going under the walk. Here is a web link to some of these root barriers. http://www.4specs.com/s/32/32-9452.html
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