Root Pruning: Considerations and Concerns

by | Sep 2, 2020 | Tree Service

A lot of residents call for tree service in Oakland and try to get a diagnosis as well as answers for some tree and plant damage they experience on their lawn and garden. There are several reasons why plants experience damage and issues over time, and while a lot of people take time in pruning their plant’ leaves for prevention and remedy, root issues can also cause the damage and withering. Thus, root pruning is very important and critical to plants and trees.  

Root, in general, are very essential for a tree’s health and life. Roots are the very medium that trees obtain water, minerals, and nutrients from the soil. It also provides them a structural support in order to grow bigger and wider.  

As mentioned, not all good things are experienced. There are times that tree roots experience problems and issues, and at the same time cause damage to external elements. For instance, shallow roots can become a potential trip hazard, creates difficulty for other plants to grow in the surrounding area, and/or ruin the aesthetics of your landscape or garden. Not to mention the hazards they can cause on the sidewalks and roads.  

This is where root pruning becomes important for prevention. Although pruning can just be one of the many solutions to prevent the situations above, it is still very important to prune your trees for other reasons, and one of which is to prevent your tree from dying and losing its vitality.  

One of the best and effective methods of pruning is to prune younger trees rather than older ones. In fact, it is the most recommended type of pruning. This is because younger trees do have root ends that have potential for growth as they are in their prime state. In addition, this is commonly practiced before planters or tree service dug up soil and performed tree planting for outgrown trees.  

When it comes to mature trees, there could be effective ways of pruning them although there is a need to make sure you prudently root pruning them. This is to avoid hurting and damaging the trees. The bigger the tree, the more it needs its roots for support. So, you better be careful with pruning those.  

You also need to take note that the closer the root is to the tree’s trunk, the more it is needed by the tree. Not just it provides the most support for the threes, it also has more carbohydrate storage sites that are important for the tree’s survival. This means that when you cut the tree roots near the trees which give the tree’s stability and nutrient support, you may end up damaging the whole tree.  

Root pruning will not be easy especially for people who do not have the experience and skill for this. DIY can cause irreparable damages to your trees and plants. If you need some services, there are companies that offer great quality root pruning as well as the necessary services to make your trees and plants healthy.