Root growth question

jlaitar

12 years ago

If a large root of a tree is cut, does the tree regrow new roots from the remaining part of the root?

Jeff

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Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
not much to go on here ....

but i dont see why new feeder roots would not begin to grow somewhere along the root ...

are you making a plan.. worrying about something... or just gazing at your navel ... and dont get me wrong.. nothing wrong with that.. thats what i spend most of winter doing .. lol

ken
arktrees
12 years ago
"If a large root of a tree is cut"

If the tree is larger and mature, then they will frequently die from this. Some species are much more likely to do so than others. Mature trees are actually far more easily tipped over into the negative balance (death spiral) than most realize, as they are very finely tuned balance between annual growth, root growth, and seed production. This has allot to do with why trees grow much more slowly, and have more narrow rings of growth as they get older. They simply do not have enough "reserve" for anything else. So cutting one large root may very well be fatal over several years. Not to mention the soil compaction, possible grade changes, and other disturbances that are likely to accompany the reason for "cutting a large root".

Arktrees
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
well yeah ark .. but isnt that jumping to the other end of the spectrum ..

when there are really no actual facts provided ...

picture in your head what you were thinking.. a 6 to 12 inch root????

or perhaps this person is thinking of a 2 inch root ... which is pretty darn large.. to a lot of peeps ...

so we have to at least start with a premiss as to what OP means by large ...

i mean.. we can speculate about all kinds of horror stories.. but i dont know if we can answer a real life question ...

if the OP just wants a general discourse on such.. so be it ... but if he wants guidance.. we need more ...

i mean really.. did you know that crack kills trees ... yeah.. it does.. especially when a crackhead goes inside.. and lights a fire to get a better look ...

but is that really reality ???? ...

we need more facts...

ken
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
12 years ago
Jeff, the honest answer to your question is: it depends. If the root has been severed very close to the trunk, then it is not likely that that woody root stub will grow a whole new batch of fine roots. It's the massive network of fine roots that are attached to the big roots that are important.

We do need more information to be able to help you. What kind of tree, how old (or how big), how and why the root was cut, etc. Has there been construction of some sort over the roots or fairly near the trunk of this tree?
arktrees
12 years ago
Ken,
Yes we need far more facts. And I agree about what "large" means can't be determined. That was why I was putting in the "mature" part. In fact I don't disagree with any of your points. The OP sounded intentionally vague. And since we have people on here all the time that utterly lack understanding that what they are doing will kill their trees, I was attempting to make an impression on the OP that if they are planing something, that it is not something to be taken lightly.

Just this morning, a good friend of mine with a wooded 2 acre lot wants to build a new house. I have been talking to him about staying away from his mature trees (including a couple large white oaks). Still an engineer had him convinced that he could go down through his wooded area with lateral lines as long as they used a narrow shovel to cut through the root systems to place the lines. Took me 10 minutes to make him understand that cut roots are cut roots whether they are cut by a 2' wide shovel, or a 5' wide shovel. The trees would almost certainly die. People often just don't understand, or simply proclaim "I can't believe that" or "common sense"

Arktrees
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
hey ark

i cant think of anything i ever disagreed with you on ...

i was just in a good mood and playing devils advocate..

heck .. i think you may have even suggested it was ok for me to hate maple.. lol ...

live long and prosper.. spock out ... ken
arktrees
12 years ago
Ken,
If it sounded as though I was offended, then my apology, as I was not. I was trying to explain why I wrote what I did. I actually welcome people "talking back" to me so to speak. To be sure, my position/disposition were no doubt influenced by the discussion with my friend about the effects of trenching though an established stand of trees.

And yes Ken, your alright with me even if you do HATE maples. My significant other LOVES horses, so she has a horse. I got nothing against them, but I have no need to be around them either. But I do take some interest because they are so important to her. So while I don't hate them, nor have reason to hate them, I'm perfectly happy with her having a horse. It's all good.

Again, I'm sorry for coming off as being annoyed.

live long and prosper (need a good cheers smiley)

Arktrees

Root growth question

Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

arktrees

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