Embothrium (can I call you 'Em'? smile) -- Thanks for that info. It sure seems apt! And my back yard borders on a vernal swamp, so that river birch is very happy in its location! We do not get flooding precisely where that tree is, tho.

When we had the young tree planted, the excavator dug a huge hole, at the bottom of which -- well, there really wasn't much of a bottom! -- I could see gigantic boulders stacked higgeldy-piggeldy with a decent-sized stream flowing under them, heading out to the vernal woods/swamp. !!! Quite a sight.

= )

Will change the level of ground on the pathway this spring. Thanks again.

No weed cloth which doesn’t suppress weeds but the roots will grow into. You can use either soil or mulch.

NEVER .... for any reason ... EVER .. use landscape cloth ... for any reason ....

and please dont try to find any wiggle room in that statement .. lol ...

ken

ps: it will just be as effective.. if you sent me the money you waste on it ....

BTW: over the next decade ... the roots will reappear.. as that is the genetic predisposition of the tree itself ... you will not fix this problem.. you will just delay the inevitable ... removal really is the only option ... to permanently fix the issue ... just think about it ... keep it in mind... perhaps its planted 5 feet from the house anyway ... other reasons to remove such ... a pic might help us understand the situation ... and help you ...

I loathe landscape cloth (still pulling out some that the previous owners installed in places -- after 20+ years of living here!) so will not use it. Don't know why I mentioned it in the OP...

Ken -- I reluctantly realize that those roots will likely keep on being a problem in the future. Not going to be MY problem, however, as I am no spring chicken any longer and I think I won't be here to have to deal, lol. Either I will have shuffled off this mortal coil, or my kids will have shuffled me out of this house and into a "home" of some sort. Gah.

The tree in question is more than 25 feet from the house, and I will not get rid of it. Love it! If I raise the grade over these roots, I will be able to trundle my garden cart and walk more safely, and that is all I want for the time being. I'm leaning towards applying bark mulch as a pathway, since grass has ceased to grow under there. I'd simply increase the garden, for more hosta!!, except that I do need a path for accessing the rest of my "estate".

Thanks for your comments!

We have a large maple tree that some of the roots surface and make it hard to cut the grass without destroying the blade. We just hack the roots of at ground level. We done this over the years to many different types of large trees with no ill effect to the tree. Trees have many more roots than what peaks up above ground.

Landscape fabric is a curse upon gardening and the good earth. The word needs to be spread far and wide.

Instead of bark mulch, which I think of as pine bark nuggets, I would suggest a ground hardwood mulch for the cart path. That will be less slippery and easier to roll and walk on. It will feed the tree and your new hosta as it decomposes and can be refreshed as needed.

Yes you can judiciously prune tree roots like the top of any plant. I would not recommend chewing them up with a lawn mower or hacking at them.

Raising grade with soil preferable to filling entirely with mulch material that will decompose, subside and have to be topped off rather often. And certainly preferable to cutting and removing tree roots of much size, with no specific advance knowledge how a particular individual tree will be affected. Also it is not the easiest thing to dig around such roots and saw through them.

After fill soil is in place then mulch can be put on top of that, to provide the desired clean, decorative and springy surface - in my area cedar play chips would definitely be the most enduring product offered in bulk.