It does look too close however judging from the photo I don't think your pipes or foundation are in as much danger as that old maple with the retaining wall built around it and presumably filled with soil.

Going back to the magnolia, you can prune roots for a little while but better to transplant. It doesn't look like you need to do it now but the longer you wait, the larger and more difficult it will be.

The roots should be of zero concern for you. Only concern should be the branches rubbing against the house.

If that isn't much of concern and you aren't comfortable will transplanting, I'd leave it.

This plant isn't likely to grow larger than 12' wide...slowly.

You say that you have a 'Royal Star' magnolia, and you also say that you "know these can get very large". 'Royal Star' gets pretty large for a shrub, but is relatively small as trees go. Are you sure of the ID?

And, as Iforgotitsonevermind pointed out, your larger tree may be in for trouble. Is the rootflare buried in the raised bed or was the soil around the bed graded down? I can almost make out a rootflare on the left hand side of the tree, but I'm not sure.

Thank you all for your comments...to answer questions:
The "retaining wall" was built by the previous owners, I cannot figure out if they raised the grade or cut into it, but I suspect the latter. I am always concerned about that tree, but it does seem healthy at this time. I'd say it's 10 ft from the house, is that likely to cause problems?

The Royal Star (it was marked as this) I understand is fairly small as far as trees go, but I am still concerned considering its extreme proximity. The branches rubbing the house doesn't bother me at all as we can prune them, my only real concern is the roots as I've read they can exploit small cracks and begin deteriorating the foundation.

This picture is from a few days ago, hopefully it will be more helpful.
{{gwi:336202}}From house

For once this is a house with a symmetric facade, calling for geometrically symmetric planting, paths and beds. Much more often matching pairs and straight lines are attempted in front of asymmetric building faces, without success.

Unfortunately you have the sugar maple throwing the scene out of balance in a major way (and dwarfing the house) - before the curving paths are taken into consideration.

At this point you actually need the star magnolia to be 30' tall in order to integrate the house and the sugar maple. Problem is, it might take 30 years to get to that size.

I would definitely remove the wall around the maple and grade the soil down gradually to the edge of the paving.

Removal of the curving bed following the central walk would probably also be an enhancement, with the lawn in that area being brought over to fill the whole space.

I would remove the lawn between the drive and the front steps and bring the foundation bed out to the walk.

I would also install a fence and/or shrubbery on the left side, between the maple and the property line, and running all the way to the back.

When a house is paired with a tree that is too large for the size of the house a good way to make an attractive scene is to plant around the house so as to make it appear to be a cottage on a larger property. As your place is now, the openness around it makes the conflict of scale between the house and the tree very apparent.

Magnolias have brittle, fleshy roots that tend to grow in a mass rather than roam widely. I can't really think of any other tree genus that would be less of a threat to a foundation than magnolia.

If you really want to move it, however, it can be done with care. The key is to preserve as much of the root mass as possible - cut around and under the roots carefully, slide onto a tarp rather than lifting by the trunk, and keep it well watered for the entire summmer and fall.

As for the maple tree, it is not going to die from the bed and soil around its trunk. It is a less than ideal arrangement, but maple trees are not delicate violets which perish from the vapors. With a tree of this size close to a house, I'd be more concerned about over hanging branches and which way (if any) the tree is leaning.

i would get rid of the maple ... its old.. its leaning.. its has had prior major surgery .. and it overhangs the house... i see no upside there... in the LONNNGGGG RUN .. beautiful golf course or park tree ... but it is a bit big for your little house ... it probably weighs more than your house.. yikes ....

whether it has to go today.. or in the next decade is your choice.. but i think you ought to start thinking about it ...real hard ...

maple makes great firewood!!!!

the magnolia.. way too close to the house.. and perhaps the bigger issue.. is its impact on the driveway ... someone is going to poke an eye out one day ... forgetting that the branches are overhanging the driveway .... scratching the car.. yadda.. yadda ...

move it... if you dont know how.. another post... check out the link below for the general idea .... though you will be working on a different scale ....

dont know where you are.. but in my zone 5.. the next few weeks is the perfect time to do it ....

insure there are no buried cables ... etc.. call miss dig if you dont know ....

i would move it into the right side bed across the private sidewalk nearly centered in that area ... [where that little picea glauca conica is.. which i might move that back into the bed the tree came out of.. it has the potential to be 10 to 15 feet high.. and about 8 feet wide in the next decade or two ... its way to close to the public sidewalk ...]

TRUST ME ... you will be better off.. creating your own landscape.. rather than dealing with all the problems the prior owner left you .. been there.. done that ... just fix.. it.. if they die. they die.. and you have a new opportunity to do it the right way ....

and NEVER FORGET.. foundation plants are planted.. to 'hide' the foundation.. NOT 'ON' THE FOUNDATION... like that tree was ... its way too close.. not for the roots... but for the shape of the future tree.. and the well being off your siding .... and your eyeballs .... [hey.. you'll poke your eye out ... no red rider BB gun for you ... lol]

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: almost forgot .. lol ..

Lolz.
Just when you think you heard the worst of it, you find out your whole scene is out of balance.

The maple isn't as buried as I originally thought.

A decent chunk of my old landscaping business was fixing the mess landscape "designers" left behind. Jus' sayin'.

I'm not sure the maple is fully happy with part of the root crown buried like that, nor do I care for that magnolia there, but not because the roots are a problem - the paint will be a problem in a few years, then the hacking pruning, then the disfigured plant, and so on. There should be a specimen shrub in the little lawn to balance the scene. I can't imagine those foundation juniper things like it there either.

So. The OP has some thinking to do, first priority is the root collar. Pull the dirt back, and it there is 6-8-10" if bark buried and looking like your finger in a band-aid after 2 days in the water, that wall's gotta go. The magnolia is in the wrong place. Foundation shrubs will likely languish but will be...erm...serviceable for a while.

Dan

One shrub by itself cannot balance a large tree - unless that shrub has made a large thicket as big as the tree. And even then a shrub does not have the vertical importance (stature) of a tree.

A 30' magnolia at the corner of the house would at least produce the illusion of another substantial tree being farther back in the scene, therefore establishing some kind of connection between the house and the maple - the trees framing the house, making the beginnings of a setting for it (like the one I described above).

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I've been looking at the maple and I've actually noticed a piece of tar paper (?) covering a big old knot. It is also losing some largish branches fairly consistently. There's nowhere that looks dead or hollow or anything though. I really want to keep this tree but I am concerned about its condition.

In reference to the foundation plants, those are boxwoods and the ones in the sun seem fine but the ones on the shady side don't like it as much. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good foundation shrub that handles sun and shade well? Cause the right hand side is really full sun and the left is virtually full shade when the tree is leafed out.

If the magnolia is no danger to the foundation then I think we will probably leave it for the moment. I think if we are able to prune it to keep it small-er it should be ok...I'm not positive though, part of me wants to move it while it's still smaller, since if it does ever get too big we'll probably have to just cut it down...

The whole front yard is a logistical mess that is as dangerous (try walking down that concrete slope in the winter!) as it is bizarre. We are hoping to take the walkways out and re-grade the entire yard eventually.

what you really need ... presuming budget is an issue ...

is to take all the above thoughts ... and come up with a 5 year plan ....

unless you have an unlimited checkbook ... you can not do everything this year ...

so take this summer to look around the 'hood... see what peeps with houses like yours have done ... figure out what you like.. and where you want to go ...

i think you are making a mistake on delaying on moving the tree.. but it is your 5 year plan.. not mine .....

i dont recall where you are.. but that tree can also be moved in fall after the leaves fall off.. in most zones ...

good luck with a plan ....

ken

A different perspective:
The Maple - Leave it. It will cost a ton to remove and your property value will decrease without it and your cooling costs in summer will go up. Plus, I am sure it has fantastic fall color. Sugar maples are durable and unlikely to be a concern to your house unless you have a tornado.

The Magnolia - Leave it. It will take forever to be too big for that spot. By then, you might have moved anyway. It will not damage the foundation or any concrete. You can look around and find many Star magnolia used in foundation plantings. I bet you will never find an example where damage was caused.

I agree with salix, no reason to cut the maple down unless a consensus of certified arborists say it needs to come down.

Dan

Sidewalk would look much better if it was made with material that would blend better with the colors and texture of the front porch step risers.

If that change was designed, it could incorporate a more slip resistant surface when wet, or for more safety when some types of bad weather would occur that currently presents slipper with the slope grade.

Seems that would be a better way instead of regrading the yard to have less slope, because if not planned correctly such slope reduction regrading could potentially slow down the rain runoff from your gutter downspouts and the rain runoff from any neighbors whose lots are higher elevated than yours.

Oh bummer!!!
Now your sidewalk is messed up!

What next? You need a new roof? I think you should add some dormers to your roof to add symmetry and change your roof shingles to hansel and gretel cottage style shake shingles. Then redo your driveway with cobblestones. Swap out those porch lights for something much larger and make then gas powered flames and not electric. The "E" on the door should be a minimum of 24 karat solid gold. The American flag should be mounted on a pole on the wall too not on the ground.

Aren't you glad you posted ;-)

Removing that maple will make your front yard look too open and exposed. I am convinced you will know you made a mistake if you do it.