"Don Staples" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
...
Hi everyone - I am planning on putting in a brick patio in my backyard
and would like to put it next to a large pine tree (50 feet tall). My
question is this - wince I need to dig down 6 - 8 inches to lay the
foundational aggregate and the resulting brick patio literally right
next to the tree, will I cause any permanent damage to the tree (or
even kill it), by removing any roots within those 6 - 8"?

Thanks!


Yes, you will cause damage to the tree. Worse case scenario would be die
back from either missing roots, or from a pathogen interring the tree from
the root damage. Typically, die back could occur within 5 years after
such types of construction, you get past that period of time, and you
should be alright.


I agree with Don Staples. Oaks in my area take 5 years at least for healthy
ones to start with. Tulip poplar trees forget it they are a goner.
I dug out my parents turf around a J. maple and placed fresh chips down and
it took over 13 years for the tree to stop producing leaves. I will place a
cross section under scope and see when decline started. Any way I agree
with Don. Pines in southern Louisiana took 9 years. We were doing an
autopsy on pines that became symplastless and bark beetles were present. It
turned out when we took a closer look that the decline started 9 years
before our autopsy and that was when the drive way was put in. So the bark
beetles were secondary agents and not the cause. It took at least 8 years
for the trees to become symplastless and stop producing needles. They were
healthy until the drive way went in. It was kind of interesting because at
that time I offered $200.00 to anyone who could provide a sample that showed
that bark beetles were the primary cause of a tree becoming symplastless.
For those who would like to know what I mean when I say symplastless:
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...plastless.html

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Forester & Tree Expert
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.