Planting Trees Near a House or Structure: What You Need to Know

When it comes to adding trees near houses or structures, there are special considerations that need to be taken into account. Learn what you need to know about large trees near houses and framing trees.

Planting Trees Near a House or Structure: What You Need to Know

When it comes to adding trees to your home grounds, there are a few special considerations to keep in mind. Properly selected and placed trees can add more livability and value to your home, but you'll need to make sure that the tree doesn't interfere with power lines, buildings, or other structures.

Large trees near houses

can cause concrete structures to become unbalanced due to their powerful roots. Roots can also filter water from the soil under foundations, causing the structure to sit and sink unevenly.

While trees are rarely the direct cause of concrete settling, roots can penetrate a building's foundation through pre-existing cracks. If you don't have enough space for a tree to reach its full size, consider a smaller species or create a different gardening option that works best for that particular area. A tree's root system is complex and, if allowed to grow near a base or utility line, can exert pressure and cause serious damage. If you plan to stay in your home for the long term, this is an especially important consideration.

As a tree ages, the roots deepen and extend even more. If they get into the foundation of your home, they can cause cracks or compromise the integrity of the structure. In experiments where plastic tree protectors were used on dogwood trees, a large number of dogwood borers were found under guards, while few were found in unprotected trees. When it comes to framing trees, they are usually planted in a more or less diagonal line facing out from the front corners of the house.

Plan the entire plantation at once, although other factors may make it necessary to plant for several seasons. This excess water fills all the air spaces in the ground and trees cannot breathe (that's right, trees breathe mainly through their roots). If you need advice or help planning for the right needs of new trees in your garden, contact TreeNeal's ISA-certified arborists and enjoy personalized advice on tree care. This results in trees that not only look beautiful, but have the best chance of living a long and healthy life.

Ed Gilman long-standing landscape practices were modified or changed to improve the overall health of plants in the managed landscape environment. It is important to leave as much foliage as possible on the tree, because carbohydrates and other products produced by photosynthesis in the leaves are necessary for the regeneration and development of the root system. Planting multiple specimens of a single cultivar or adding different cultivars of the same species may not isolate trees against a new devastating insect or disease. When planting holes are dug deeper than the height of the root ball, the plant often settles, causing the trunk to widen and the structural roots to be planted too deep.

Selecting an inappropriate tree or planting at an incorrect distance can cause significant damage to your property in the future. Even if the trees had nothing to do with the concrete agreement, homeowners and insurance companies often blame them for the damage. While some customers require all of the root ball and tree roots to be ground, most just want the tree stump to be low enough to be covered with grass or topsoil so that the grass can fill it up. Once you have determined that you need a tree in a certain location, you must then decide which tree or trees will best meet your needs.

The best way to increase diversity is to add a new tree of a completely different genus than existing trees on your site or in your city.