We have several large shade trees in our yard. Around the trees, numerous
small thin roots are exposed. They are from pencil-thickness to a couple of
inches, and they tend to come up, lay flat over the ground (or slightly
elevated from the ground) for 5-10 inches, then go back down. This makes it
very difficult to mow the lawn (grass is growing between the roots).

Can someone tell me the feasibility of any of these ideas:

1. Removing the exposed roots. If so, how?
2. Re-sodding. Would this be terribly expensive? Would I have to do it to
the whole lawn, or just the rooty areas?
3. Giving up that part of the lawn and planting big circles of wildflowers
around the trees.
4. Anything I am missing?

Thanks in advance.
--S.

"Suzanne D." wrote in message
...
We have several large shade trees in our yard. Around the trees, numerous
small thin roots are exposed. They are from pencil-thickness to a couple
of
inches, and they tend to come up, lay flat over the ground (or slightly
elevated from the ground) for 5-10 inches, then go back down. This makes
it
very difficult to mow the lawn (grass is growing between the roots).

Can someone tell me the feasibility of any of these ideas:

1. Removing the exposed roots. If so, how?
2. Re-sodding. Would this be terribly expensive? Would I have to do it
to
the whole lawn, or just the rooty areas?
3. Giving up that part of the lawn and planting big circles of wildflowers
around the trees.
4. Anything I am missing?

Thanks in advance.
--S.



Drill some holes and fill them with Roundup from your local hardware.

Then douse the rest of your lawn and garden.

Suzanne D. wrote:
We have several large shade trees in our yard. Around the trees,
numerous small thin roots are exposed. They are from
pencil-thickness to a couple of inches, and they tend to come up,
lay flat over the ground (or slightly elevated from the ground) for
5-10 inches, then go back down. This makes it very difficult to
mow the lawn (grass is growing between the roots).

Can someone tell me the feasibility of any of these ideas:

1. Removing the exposed roots. If so, how?
2. Re-sodding. Would this be terribly expensive? Would I have to
do it to the whole lawn, or just the rooty areas?
3. Giving up that part of the lawn and planting big circles of
wildflowers around the trees.
4. Anything I am missing?

Thanks in advance.
--S.

There isn't much you can do. The tree will most likely suck up all the
water and flowers won't grow and they will be in the shade of the tree
anyhow and if you flood them with water it would probably kill the tree.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

"Suzanne D." wrote in message
...
We have several large shade trees in our yard. Around the trees, numerous
small thin roots are exposed. They are from pencil-thickness to a couple
of
inches, and they tend to come up, lay flat over the ground (or slightly
elevated from the ground) for 5-10 inches, then go back down. This makes
it
very difficult to mow the lawn (grass is growing between the roots).

Can someone tell me the feasibility of any of these ideas:

1. Removing the exposed roots. If so, how?
2. Re-sodding. Would this be terribly expensive? Would I have to do it
to
the whole lawn, or just the rooty areas?
3. Giving up that part of the lawn and planting big circles of wildflowers
around the trees.
4. Anything I am missing?

You can buy ferns in liners or 1 gallon containers and plant them in between
the roots. Forget about sod or wildflowers. There's not enough sun for
flowers and the trees will use up most of the available water and nutrients.
The ferns have the best chance of survival.

Not a whole lot you can do. You didn't state what kind of trees you
have. Some trees have tendencies to grow surface roots, such as
willow. Frequent shallow watering can cause this too. It would be
better to remove the tree than damage the tree by cutting the roots.
I suggest a circular layer of organic mulch, mushroom compost is my
favorite. You can plant a shade garden--impatients, pachysandra,
ferns, etc.


On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 20:15:14 -0700, "Suzanne D."
wrote:

We have several large shade trees in our yard. Around the trees, numerous
small thin roots are exposed. They are from pencil-thickness to a couple of
inches, and they tend to come up, lay flat over the ground (or slightly
elevated from the ground) for 5-10 inches, then go back down. This makes it
very difficult to mow the lawn (grass is growing between the roots).

Can someone tell me the feasibility of any of these ideas:

1. Removing the exposed roots. If so, how?
2. Re-sodding. Would this be terribly expensive? Would I have to do it to
the whole lawn, or just the rooty areas?
3. Giving up that part of the lawn and planting big circles of wildflowers
around the trees.
4. Anything I am missing?

Thanks in advance.
--S.

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 16:59:08 GMT, Phisherman wrote:

Not a whole lot you can do. You didn't state what kind of trees you
have. Some trees have tendencies to grow surface roots, such as
willow. Frequent shallow watering can cause this too. It would be
better to remove the tree than damage the tree by cutting the roots.
I suggest a circular layer of organic mulch, mushroom compost is my
favorite. You can plant a shade garden--impatients, pachysandra,
ferns, etc.
I second the call for mulch. A layer 3" thick over the entire root
zone would be ideal, but you'll probably want to limit yourself to the
area adjacent to the trunk and a few feet outward. Just don't heap
the mulch against the trunk--the trunk flares should be visible and
able to breathe/dry out between rain/irrigation.

This solves your problem because you won't need to mow the area
anymore, you won't be struggling to get grass to grow in heavy shade,
and you won't see the roots.

It also benefits the tree because you won't be mowing there anymore,
you won't be tempted to hit the tree with a weedeater, and the soil
will be improved. When the material decomposes, it will invigorate
the soil ecosystem, making nutrients more available to the tree.
Also, your soil will gradually become less compacted and less prone to
drought, allowing deeper roots and possibly reducing the number of new
surface roots.
Happy roots make happy trees!

Keith Babbenrey
ISA Certified Arborist

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
Not a whole lot you can do. You didn't state what kind of trees you
have. Some trees have tendencies to grow surface roots, such as
willow.

Correct, a willow is the main culprit, though there are a few other trees
that I cannot readily identify.

I suggest a circular layer of organic mulch, mushroom compost is my
favorite. You can plant a shade garden--impatients, pachysandra,
ferns, etc.

Thanks, I may consider this. It is impossible to mow there, and the kids
keep tripping over the roots when they play, so it might be best to plant
something shade-loving and just forget about grass.
--S.

How often do you see turgrass on a forest floor?
You are asking for very un-natural conditions.
You either need groundcovers or a mulch, or to remove the trees.

wrote in message
oups.com...
How often do you see turgrass on a forest floor?
You are asking for very un-natural conditions.
You either need groundcovers or a mulch, or to remove the trees.

Actually, if you had read carefully, my problem is not how to grow grass
under trees; it is what to do about the exposed roots. The grass is growing
wonderfully, even up between the roots, as I clearly said in my post. The
roots make it hard to mow, so the grass looks scraggly there. Plus, the
kids sometimes trip over the roots while running. I was asking if I could
remove the roots to allow my lawn to be mowed, or if it might be better to
plant something else there.
--S.

I stand corrected

"Suzanne D." wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...
How often do you see turgrass on a forest floor?
You are asking for very un-natural conditions.
You either need groundcovers or a mulch, or to remove the trees.

Actually, if you had read carefully, my problem is not how to grow grass
under trees; it is what to do about the exposed roots. The grass is
growing
wonderfully, even up between the roots, as I clearly said in my post. The
roots make it hard to mow, so the grass looks scraggly there. Plus, the
kids sometimes trip over the roots while running. I was asking if I could
remove the roots to allow my lawn to be mowed, or if it might be better to
plant something else there.

If you have one or two roots, an axe or a chain-saw will suffice to get it
below ground level. If you have a large stump (or more than one), rent a
stump grinder from almost any tool-rental location. They're not that hard to
use, and not that expensive.

I've done all of the above at one time or another.

"Dennis Edward" wrote in message news:aY%
If you have one or two roots, an axe or a chain-saw will suffice to get it
below ground level.

We actually have a couple dozen small roots. Would it be okay to remove all
of them this way?
--S.

Have you considered adding 3 or 4 inches of topsoil around them, to cover
them up again?? You could gently slope the soil up to and away from them.

--James--

"Suzanne D." wrote in message
...

"Dennis Edward" wrote in message news:aY%
If you have one or two roots, an axe or a chain-saw will suffice to get
it
below ground level.

We actually have a couple dozen small roots. Would it be okay to remove
all
of them this way?

No reason why not. Good exercise. How much your lawn gets hacked up depends
on how much care you take peeling back the turf and digging out / exposing
the root. Cutting roots with chainsaws is hard on the chain, so have a spare
chain or a file handy.

"Dennis Edward" wrote in message news:aY%
If you have one or two roots, an axe or a chain-saw will suffice to get
it
below ground level.

We actually have a couple dozen small roots. Would it be okay to remove
all
of them this way?

No reason why not. Good exercise. How much your lawn gets hacked up depends
on how much care you take peeling back the turf and digging out / exposing
the root. Cutting roots with chainsaws is hard on the chain, so have a spare
chain or a file handy.

I believe that if your tree is putting roots above ground level that it is
probably the type of tree that will continue doing this. Even if you cut
the existing roots, you will probably have the same problem again in a few
years.

Many trees are banned from streetside planting because their roots are
aggressive and on the surface and will raise up sidewalks and create a trip
hazard. I am late to this discussion so I don't know what type of tree you
have. You may want to talk to your local nursery and find a more suitable
type to grow next to your lawn area.

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.