Hi there

I'm hoping someone can help with a problem.
I have the biggest LillyPilly I have ever seen in my backyard.(Brisbane)
Lovely shade etc but the surface roots are a massive problem.
I am wanting to know if I limit these roots will that effect the tree.. (you
know let it fall over faster..)
Want I am thinking of doing is marking a circle around the tree.
installing some sort of barrier and digging up all the roots outside of the
barrier.

Will this work or any other advice is much appreciated as I don't want to
remove the tree.

Thanks
John

BTW I haven't bothered with this in the past but as my little boy is
starting to walk I don't want him tripping over the roots.

Add 3 inches of soil or get him a stackhat and kneepads. Children learn
where not to trip. Roots are the things that secure your tree's water
intake, nutrient intake and physically secure it to the ground. Leave the
roots alone unless you wanna risk injury to the tree.
Jock
"John & Angela Cran" wrote in message
u...
Hi there

I'm hoping someone can help with a problem.
I have the biggest LillyPilly I have ever seen in my backyard.(Brisbane)
Lovely shade etc but the surface roots are a massive problem.
I am wanting to know if I limit these roots will that effect the tree..
(you
know let it fall over faster..)
Want I am thinking of doing is marking a circle around the tree.
installing some sort of barrier and digging up all the roots outside of
the
barrier.

Will this work or any other advice is much appreciated as I don't want to
remove the tree.

Thanks
John

BTW I haven't bothered with this in the past but as my little boy is
starting to walk I don't want him tripping over the roots.

In article , John & Angela Cran wrote:
Hi there

I'm hoping someone can help with a problem.
I have the biggest LillyPilly I have ever seen in my backyard.(Brisbane)
Lovely shade etc but the surface roots are a massive problem.
I am wanting to know if I limit these roots will that effect the tree.. (you
know let it fall over faster..)
Want I am thinking of doing is marking a circle around the tree.
installing some sort of barrier and digging up all the roots outside of the
barrier.

Will this work or any other advice is much appreciated as I don't want to
remove the tree.

Thanks
John

BTW I haven't bothered with this in the past but as my little boy is
starting to walk I don't want him tripping over the roots.

To be honest the simplest solution is to disallow access for your boy
for the first three months or so of his being able to walk. After that,
his walking skills should increase enough so that they won't pose a
problem to him. Case in point. We have a staircase with open steps
in our house. When our daughter first started walking this was of
some concern to us. After a while she was the most competent of all
the kids we knew at going up and down stairs.

I know it's easy to forget, but early infancy is definately a
transient phase. You could try temporarily covering the surface roots
with a tarpaulin or some slightly more rigid structure, if you can't
fence the area off temporarily.


--
Replace abuse with kd21 in email address to assure valid reply
address.

John & Angela Cran wrote:
Hi there

I'm hoping someone can help with a problem.
I have the biggest LillyPilly I have ever seen in my backyard.(Brisbane)
Lovely shade etc but the surface roots are a massive problem.
I am wanting to know if I limit these roots will that effect the tree.. (you
know let it fall over faster..)
Want I am thinking of doing is marking a circle around the tree.
installing some sort of barrier and digging up all the roots outside of the
barrier.

Will this work or any other advice is much appreciated as I don't want to
remove the tree.

Thanks
John

BTW I haven't bothered with this in the past but as my little boy is
starting to walk I don't want him tripping over the roots.


I think there's a good chance you'd kill the tree as the roots probably
go well beyond the drip line.


Jane

In article ,
"John & Angela Cran" wrote:

BTW I haven't bothered with this in the past but as my little boy is
starting to walk I don't want him tripping over the roots.

Oh for crying out loud! Why don't you just wrap him in cotton wool and tie
him up inside the house so he doesn't hurt himself?

Toddlers will trip over THEIR OWN FEET. You have Buckley's of getting him
through the next ten years without bumps and scratches. Alter your
expectations now before you have the breakdown.

Yes, I have a 2.5yo.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

In article ,
"John & Angela Cran" wrote:

BTW I haven't bothered with this in the past but as my little boy is
starting to walk I don't want him tripping over the roots.

Oh for crying out loud! Why don't you just wrap him in cotton wool and tie
him up inside the house so he doesn't hurt himself?

Toddlers will trip over THEIR OWN FEET. You have Buckley's of getting him
through the next ten years without bumps and scratches. Alter your
expectations now before you have the breakdown.

Yes, I have a 2.5yo.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

Oh for crying out loud! Why don't you just wrap him in cotton wool and
tie
him up inside the house so he doesn't hurt himself?


Ok
Yeah but I want to have a back yard that's more than roots... they are
slowly taking over what available space there is.
They are almost as bad as Camphor Laurel roots.
So by going with the post's to this thread I think a big chainsaw is going
to be in order, a solution I was not wanting.

Thanks for giving me the warning....
John

In article ,
"John & Angela Cran" wrote:

Yeah but I want to have a back yard that's more than roots... they are
slowly taking over what available space there is.

How big is the tree? Have you considered a good layer of mulch (woodchips or
gravel)? Not touching the trunk, I hasten to say.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

In article , Chookie wrote:

In article , "John &
Angela Cran" wrote:

Yeah but I want to have a back yard that's more than roots... they
are slowly taking over what available space there is.


How big is the tree? Have you considered a good layer of mulch
(woodchips or gravel)?


Or even pavers?




--
email address bogus due to spam

Chookie writes:
How big is the tree? Have you considered a good layer of mulch (woodchips or
gravel)? Not touching the trunk, I hasten to say.

Might also be able to wall around part of the area near the tree, cover
the roots there with woodchips or weed mat and pile on washed river sand
for a shaded sand pit area for the kid. The area then won't be wasted.
Treat it as a temporary thing, and remove the sand in a year or two. The
tree might not like it in the long term.

Don't use salt-water sand, the salt might kill the tree.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

The tree is at least 15 Metre's high, I cant' get my arms around the trunk.
Due to the size of this thing I don't have much room in my backyard that
isn't in shade and the tree is almost on the fenceline..
I have thought about the paving/mulching/sand ideas but it means I loose my
backyard entirely (well almost).
Pavers wouldnt last more than 12 mths before they were uprooted (oh dear) by
the relentless upward push of the roots.

So I am still considering the big chainsaw option...(of course I can only do
this if the council gives it nod...Pity it's not an Oleander)


"John Savage" wrote in message
om...
Chookie writes:
How big is the tree? Have you considered a good layer of mulch
(woodchips or
gravel)? Not touching the trunk, I hasten to say.

Might also be able to wall around part of the area near the tree, cover
the roots there with woodchips or weed mat and pile on washed river sand
for a shaded sand pit area for the kid. The area then won't be wasted.
Treat it as a temporary thing, and remove the sand in a year or two. The
tree might not like it in the long term.

Don't use salt-water sand, the salt might kill the tree.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

In article ,
"John & Angela Cran" wrote:

The tree is at least 15 Metre's high, I cant' get my arms around the trunk.
Due to the size of this thing I don't have much room in my backyard that
isn't in shade and the tree is almost on the fenceline..
I have thought about the paving/mulching/sand ideas but it means I loose my
backyard entirely (well almost).

Why would mulching remove your back yard? I thought that it would give you a
reasonably flat surafce, so that the area would be *more* usable. What would
you like to use the area for?

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Jeez; if only those Ancient Greek storytellers had known about the astonishing
creature that is the *Usenet hydra*: you cut off one head, and *a stupider one*
grows back..." -- MJ, cam.misc

In article , John & Angela Cran wrote:

The tree is at least 15 Metre's high, I cant' get my arms around the
trunk. Due to the size of this thing I don't have much room in my
backyard that isn't in shade and the tree is almost on the
fenceline.. I have thought about the paving/mulching/sand ideas but
it means I loose my backyard entirely (well almost). Pavers wouldnt
last more than 12 mths before they were uprooted (oh dear) by the
relentless upward push of the roots.

So I am still considering the big chainsaw option...(of course I can
only do this if the council gives it nod...Pity it's not an
Oleander)


With a tree like that, it's been there for a good amount of time +- 1
century. There's no way council will let you remove it. Decking is
another alternative for your situation.

In article , John & Angela Cran wrote:

The tree is at least 15 Metre's high, I cant' get my arms around the
trunk. Due to the size of this thing I don't have much room in my
backyard that isn't in shade and the tree is almost on the
fenceline.. I have thought about the paving/mulching/sand ideas but
it means I loose my backyard entirely (well almost). Pavers wouldnt
last more than 12 mths before they were uprooted (oh dear) by the
relentless upward push of the roots.

So I am still considering the big chainsaw option...(of course I can
only do this if the council gives it nod...Pity it's not an
Oleander)


With a tree like that, it's been there for a good amount of time +- 1
century. There's no way council will let you remove it. Decking is
another alternative for your situation.