In the middle of the East County summer heat, the LC Tree Service crew performed a project with a pine tree removal and several tree trimmings on a property in El Cajon, San Diego. The tree removal on this job was performed due to the tree’s roots lifting and cracking the property’s concrete. When planning out your landscape design, or deciding on where to plant a new tree, remember…location, location location!
A young tree may seem innocent enough, and it can be hard to visualize just how massive it may grow since it takes many many years for trees to grow large enough to cause damage. But trees do grow, and some trees will get huge! If trees are planted too close to any structure or urban development, then contingent on the tree species, a mature tree’s roots are more than capable of lifting concrete, cracking foundations, breaking into metal pipes, damaging retaining walls, and more. As they grow they can actually even move a large section of your property slowly over time.
Roots search the ground for water and minerals, and they will go wherever necessary. Trees, like the Ficus and pine trees, are notorious for doing this, as they possess large root systems that grow above ground and can cause serious damage.
There is no guarantee that tree roots will cause damage, but there is always a potential. We have seen little trees push up sidewalks several inches and huge trees planted right next to a house do no damage at all. So it really is anybody’s guess on whether or not there will be any damage. All we can do is know what the natural inclination of the roots are and advise people accordingly.
If you bring a cute little potted five-foot tree home because you think it will look nice by your front door. Remember that that little tree may have the potential to be an 80-ft high Ficus tree. It happens more then you think. So save yourself some money and know the type of tree you are planting next to your house. If its a large tree, plant it at least 20-ft from any concrete or structure. It also helps to have the tree trimmed regularly by a Certified Arborist, so that root issues can be caught early on before any real damage occurs.
El Cajon Tree Service
LC Tree Service is one of El Cajon’s top-rated tree service companies! Since 2008, we have been helping to manage and clean up thousands of residential, commercial, and government properties throughout El Cajon and the rest of San Diego County. Whether you need a tree trimming, tree removal, stump grinding, hedge pruning, weed abatement, fire clearing, or land clearing service, we are here to help! LC Tree Service is also owned and staffed by ISA Certified Arborists, which means that we can not only provide you with highly skilled tree services, but we can also back it up with extensive arboricultural knowledge.
