Surviving Construction

Surviving Construction

How trees survive construction

One of our Parker clients built a house on a lot with two very large existing pine trees on the lot.  He didn’t want to lose these huge trees amid all the construction.

A past post talks about the effects of cutting tree roots and in this case, unless the contractors working on the site were aware of the tree roots, then cutting roots is possible. Even if they are aware it’s sometimes inevitable if you don’t want to change your plan to account for tree root damage.

What an arborist will do is estimate root spread based on the drip line which is an imperfect but good starting point.

So if for example if this client had a lot of wiring and trenching done right next to or even under a tree canopy, then those would be the areas to pay special attention to when watering and may require frequent fertilization (summer and fall).

Also, drip irrigation can help a tree that seems more likely to have severed roots. An example is if one of the large trees in question is smack-dab next to a brand new driveway. Sure sign, right there.  Most arborists refer to construction damage as an abiotic factor that sends the tree into decline.

Past Post – Cutting Tree Roots – A Subtle Influence

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