g'day bf,

sorry about the typo, but the 'u' key is beside the 'i' key hey
chuckle?

anyway as for the edible figs as far as know they too have intrusive
root system not as bad as some other ficus but bad enough, over here
in aus' the only ficus that don't are the native species, and not many
people grow them.

and yes root barries would fail with ficus as their roots are very
invasive, and cutting them back will probably cause even more roots to
grow.

you should strongly conider the removal of the tree, and generally the
tree should be poisened first and be well dead before removing it, you
are haing problems with your drains it will also be causing maybe not
yet seen issues with your foundations. once their roots get into a
crack anywher they just get bigger and bigger in amoutn of root that
enters and the main root gets larger and alrger in thickness until it
eventually cause a structure crack. they rip up driveways, pathways
and road surfaces.

your drains don't need to leak to attract their roots all they need is
the tiniest crack enough to get a hair root into and if it finds
moisture it will populate the drain rapidly, these sort of trees
should never be gron in suburban gardens as the minimum distance from
foundations and pipes should be at least 30 meters (100' app') and
with some of the very large species double and treble that distance.

you only hope of making your drains pipe sytem ficus root or any root
safe is to use poly type pipes that are glued together as i indicated
in my last post. the roots you are aware of on the surface are nothing
compared to deeper roots you can't see. and removing or cutting the
few root s you find will never cause the tree any harm.

surely there must be a more user friendly tree to grow for shade?? the
longer you leave those trees in the worse and the more the damage you
will get.

and putting other pipes in like you indicated will do nothing more
than provide more opportunity, and the tree and roots won't stop
there. ripping up some lawn to repalce pipes is the easiest part of
the job you ahve to do so far, foundations is a whole 'nother thing.

anyhow so far i think you ahve made a rod for your own back by
planting these trees, and you hacking away at a few surface roots is
not affecting the tree(s), these trees ahve an insatiable quest for
moisture and nutrient.

might be time to bite the bullet so to say.



On 29 Apr 2007 23:18:08 -0700, wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/