Reasons to avoid planting trees too close to your house
Reasons to avoid planting trees too close to your house
The ideal arrangement of shrubs, plants, and trees can reflect the special ambiance of your home in your yard. A well-designed landscape offers a lovely, soothing vibe, but if you put the wrong thing in the wrong spot, you may end up with a headache instead of a tranquil retreat! it’s crucial to understand the ideal and undesirable locations to grow them and the reasons to avoid planting trees to close to your house.
Branches, twigs, and leaves can build up
The yearly severe weather seasons bring heavy rain and wind gusts that can cover the yard in leaves, twigs, and even larger limbs. Trees that are planted too close to your home may eventually accumulate leaves and twigs that end up on your roof and in your gutters, causing siding or roof damage.
Roots
After you’ve selected your top candidates for trees, spend some time learning about how big the trees will eventually get as well as how their roots will spread out. Consulting a tree expert is always a good idea if you are unsure. Trees often grow between one and three times as wide as their canopy, and in rare instances, they may even form roots that are twice as wide as their height! Planting should be distant from foundations, water pipelines, walkways, and septic lines for trees with more aggressive roots, such as some Maple, Willow, and Elm species.
Consider a lesser type of tree or come up with another landscaping idea that would be more appropriate for that location if you don’t have enough room for a tree to develop to its full potential.
Damage from fallen branches or trees
Having a mature tree too close to your home carries with it a number of hazardous outcomes. Wind, snow, or ice can send large branches through a window or onto your roof. Even more dangerous is the chance of a tree near your home being toppled, which has the potential to be both destructive and deadly. Some trees are also prone to weak wood, which attracts insects and increases the chance of a tree becoming ill or dying. In turn, this poses a greater risk of falling.
Soil moisture levels
Due to the water levels needed to maintain a tree’s life, trees create changes in soil moisture. If a tree grows too close to your home, it could pose serious issues since the pressure from the expanding and contracting soil on the foundation could eventually result in cracks or shifting.
Settling concrete
Concrete is more prone to cracking and shifting as it settles. An already damaged cement foundation or sidewalk can become worse as a result of a massive root system. Significant shifting can damage the integrity of the home or sidewalk if it takes place naturally, as a result of tree roots, or as a result of a mix of the two.
Call Johnson Ops Tree Care at 608 526-6297, we are experts in tree care, our employees have been extensively trained, and include a certified arborist to help you make the most informed choices for your trees. Stop by and check out our our inventory of Legacy Trees
