Question about a homeowner in Portland who told me to 'just cut the roots, the tree will be fine'

He said that while pointing at a 30 inch maple's surface roots near his new patio, and I had to explain that severing those major anchors would likely kill a 60 year old tree within two seasons, so has anyone else had a client argue with basic tree biology like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_harris392d ago

Honestly, that's wild. Tbh I've seen it happen with smaller feeder roots near foundations, but those big surface roots are basically the tree's main support. Cutting them is like taking out the legs of a table. Ngl, it's scary how little people know about what keeps a mature tree standing, especially in a storm.

carr.james2d ago

Tell me about it. I once watched a neighbor try to "fix" a trip hazard by cutting a root thicker than my arm. The whole tree had a noticeable lean by the next season. Makes me wonder if I should start carrying "Don't Cut That" flyers next to my medical gloves on the truck. Some days it feels like common sense is the real emergency.