Always remember that trees are living things. Their roots are very
important to them. Use caution and common sense when removing roots. If
you remove 30% of the roots, you will need to remove 30% of the branches or
you risk killing the tree. Good luck.
Once again, this is a myth. The tree needs those branches to produce
energy to recover from the root damage. Never remove a live tree
branch without a good reason.
Meanwhile, removing 30% of roots or branches is stretching the limits
of what the tree can tolerate. Especially if the roots are very large
(say, 2" diam or larger, depending on trunk diam) or very close to the
trunk.
I reiterate, the solution is to add mulch on top of the roots.
Keith Babberney
ISA Certified Arborist
Calling it a myth is a little arrogant.
While I bow to your professional expertise, there is scientific evidence to
support both claims.
My tree experience has been mostly with bonsai where it is accepted practice
to significantly trim the tree roots to keep the plant in a dwarf form--and
this, in turn, requires an equal trimming of the foliage or it is very
likely the plant will die. I agree that in landscape trees where you are
removing only a few roots there is usually not a need to trim the branches.
However, if you are removing significant roots, even from a landscape tree,
I'm sure you will agree that the drought stress may be too much for a tree
to recover and the tree will die. I have found, through personal
experience, that trimming the branches of a tree that has been
root-compromised is an excellent way to prevent death. I am not the only
person who feels this way; many professional horticulturists agree with this
assessment.
In the future, I would appreciate it if you disagreed politely instead of
throwing around your "ISA Certified Arborist" as if nobody else could
possibly have anything of substance to say. I have met many professional
horticulturists who were dead wrong about many issues, mostly because they
were following old beliefs and not keeping current with the science.
|