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Trees Going Green

What shade trees are safe to grow close to home?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

In an effort to reduce my cooling bill, I'd like to grow tall shade trees as close to my house as possible in order to shield the exterior of my home from the sun. My home is in Hardiness Zone 6a.

My concern is the root system potentially damaging the foundation of my home.

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Comments (4)

bengz6westmd
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
The Chinese (Allee II) elm I planted ~2004 at about 25' from the house has grown remarkably and shades the west side of the house and the edge of the crown is even getting close to the roof-line now, tho the arching branches are well above it. It produces little litter other than the autumn leaf-shed. Sugar maple that was already there does a fine job of shading the southwest side of the house. Area underneath these trees (and that end of the house) is noticeably cooler than out in the sun. In winter they of course allow the sun in. My now 50' tall honeylocust isn't situated to shade the house itself, but IMO would also do a good job. 25' away from the house is sufficient IMO for these tree species to avoid structural issues. Cottonwoods or willows might be a different matter....
B G thanked bengz6westmd
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
where are you ... big city name ...

i agree with the above.. 20 feet is a starting point .... i have found.. that cooling the ground that far away ... allows cool air at the windows ... and the mass of the tree out there ... dont really care if wispy branch ends eventually fall ... the attic fan does its job on the roof ...

how new and up to date is your house ... trees usually dont cause problems ... but rather take advantage of pre-exisiting problems ... so if you have an intact foundation/basement .. and current modern pvc plumbing .... it most likely is not an issue ...

ken
B G thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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The answer is, as with so many other things in landscaping, "it depends." Lazygardens has touched on some of the variables. Trees do have a unique cooling impact because, in my experience, they not only produce shade but also hold a reservoir of cool air underneath them. Hence I would disagree that a vine on a trellis and a tree produce quite the same effect. But trees do represent a rather unique threat as well. I lived for years under a neighbour's tree that was positioned perfectly to fall on and crush our house. That is a strain I think people have a right to put on themselves, but not to put on other people. So I would always make sure that such a tree is planted so that any threat it creates is to your house, not so that prevailing winds make it a threat to the neighbour's house (ahem). One problem with making this decision - which I presume is what you are doing - is that you can only make the decision to plant the tree. Most of us will not be granted the opportunity (or the capacity!) to be the person who also has to make decisions about its demise vs. survival 50 or more years hence. And the reality is that, while a tree out in a field or in a forest can grow and grow and grow, in an urban environment, there is such a thing as a tree that is simply too big and has to be taken down. The best you can do is make a decision that is rational for now and for any conditions you can foresee. You can plant the tree so it will give shade, and so that it will not hit power lines, and so that the majority of its undesirable effects fall on you (debris, roots, canopy, threat) and not the neighours. But you cannot control decisions that future owners of your home make many years from now. If someone is stupid enough to let the tree grow too big and it falls on them, you can't protect them from that. KarinL
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I thought a poplar too from what I could see of the leaves. Cottonwoods are a common "self-planted" tree. In fact, the cottonwoods here are right now spreading their fluffy seeds. Kind of looks like snow when they really get going! Cottonwoods get big. Way too big to be any where near a house. And I do not know if ice is a concern where you live but poplars take a huge beating and break pretty easily in the killer ice storms we have about once a decade. In the big storm before last, all the youngish cottonwoods that were near to full height but not yet to full girth broke like matchsticks and dropped across the front and back lawns at my parents' house. They were sooooo lucky not to have any drop on the house. Good thing it was all ash and hickory nearest to the house. Cottonwoods are nice trees, but in my opinion, never near a house. FataMorgana
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If you want to cut it down, cut it off at ground level and immediately paint the stump with some kind of brush/tree herbicide with 2,4-D in it. If it resprouts, girdle the new shoot and again paint the 2,4-D containing herbicide on it. Always use chemicals wisely and follow label directions. That stuff will kill other trees/shrubs if you get it on them. On the other hand, if you trim them up, they make a dandy tree in far west Texas where other trees won't make it. I don't think 9-10 feet from the foundation is close enough to hurt. I've had them closer than that.
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Comments (9)
Roots go out, not down and yes, those roots grow wide. There is often a comparison to the root spread diameter to twice the height of the tree, but that is not hard and fast. Sometimes they will be more restricted and at other times could spread much wider - it is all in response to nutrients and moisture availability. And to any obstructions in their path. Thuja plicata, western red cedar, is native to the PNW and there are many very venerable and very large specimens in gardens all over, even in the heart of the city. As they age, they often produce a quantity of large surface roots, to the bane of many lawnmowers :-) As ken noted, roots are not a threat to a stable and secure foundation, especially in most of the PNW where soil subsidence is not an issue. They can and do lift slabs and patios or driveways, however.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
Tree roots damaging foundations is a bit of an unfounded myth. If your foundation is structurally sound - no fissures or cracks - then the roots of most trees will not bother it. When tree roots reach a solid obstacle in their path.....the foundation.......they just change direction, not bore through it!! Most foundation issues are the result of soil subsidence, nothing to do with tree roots at all!
B G thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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Yardvaark
5 years ago
The answer to the title question is dependent on so many factors that a book based on years of extensive/expensive study could probably be written about it, but has not yet been written. Depending on your foundation type, some large trees could damage it ... especially if it is a slab or mortared or the tree is large. As a general safeguard I would use large shrubs (things that get 20' tall) within the nearest 10'. And then trees that get to 40' tall in the zone 10' to 20' away from house. After 20' away from it, I would be OK with large trees that get to be any height. This is not based on my scientific study (or I would write that book!) but on my gut sense. I've seen cracked foundations from large trees too close and whole houses broken as their slab is uplifted.

Keep in mind that some of the most useful shade comes from blocking the western sun from a distance, later in the day. It doesn't necessarily need to be blocked from directly overhead. You need to study what would work in your situation.
B G thanked Yardvaark

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