Planting a Red Maple Tree

» BillieA - Billie Allen Can anyone tell me how close to a driveway I can p

Billie Allen
Can anyone tell me how close to a driveway I can plant a red maple? The tag says it's a street tree, does that mean the roots won't damage the concrete when the tree is full grown? I also would like to know if there is any site that pictures a cutaway view of the tree's root system, and how the roots grow underground. Thanks.

-- posted by BillieA

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» Carol Wallace - Billie, Maple trees tend to be shallow rooted. Is yours an acer

Billie, Maple trees tend to be shallow rooted. Is yours an acer rubrum -- a regular red maple? Or one of the red-leafed Japanese maples??

Does your driveway have expansion joints, or is it a single stretch of concrete? Because expansion joints mean you would only have to replace a section of your driveway if you did run into problems instead of the whole thing.

And do you happen to know if it's built on a bed of gravel?? Tree roots will grow deeper when they encounter a stretch of gravel, which can eliminate a lot of potential problems. And how far away can you plant the red maple from it without getting too far away? With deeper rooted trees the recommendation is to plant at least

The rule of thumb is to plant trees that will grow to no more than 30 feet in areas that have 2-3 feet between paved areas, and 5-6 feet away for those that will grow to 50 feet -- but since the red maple is particularly shallow rooted further away is better.

Many urban tree planting programs get around the root problem by installing a root barrier along the tree edge of the sidewalk which will forve the roots to grow beneath it instead of into it. These can be made of plastic, or of a special geotextile fabric. It should extend one foot deep and at least 5 or 6
feet in both directions from the point on the sidewalk edge closest to the tree.

Or you might consider putting your maple in the back yard to create a shady area and getting something with deeper roots for this area. We have had a beautiful crab apple tree growing near our asphalt drive for some time with no real problems; Amur maple would work, if you have your heart set on a maple tree. A columnar Sargent's cherry tree or little leaf linden might also be suitable if you really want something that will grow large. Smaller species of trees naturally have smaller root systems. Amur maple would work, if you have your heart set on a maple tree.

You can find information about tree root barriers here. I'm still on the hunt for a picture of a tree's root system for you.

Carol virtually gardening

-- posted by Carol Wallace

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