I have this psydium tree in my home (like guava, but less pungent). It's 20cm thick and about 25cm from the house's foundation. I want to minimize structural damage to the house while trying to keep the tree alive since it's fruitful and conures often come to eat from it.
Until now there aren't apparent cracks on either walls or the floor, the pipes seem to be fine for now. However I would like to limit the growth of the roots as possible, how can I tell which roots are safe to prune? Is it safe to cut the superficial thick roots in direction of the house? Would making a longitudinal cut along the bark facing the house limit the roots' growth? Or is the tree doomed and must I cut it altogether?
>Or is the tree doomed and must I cut it altogether?
Certainly not. Move your stupid house.
Piss on stupid tree. Tree near house always end badly.
You should plan for removing the tree in a few years from now. So, propogate the tree from cuttings or seeds today so that when the time comes, there are additional trees starting to fruit that are planted in better locations. It's not worth risking compromising your house structure when you can just grow new trees further away from the property. Sure, they'll take some years to get to the same point, but get started today and in 3-4 years they'll be fruiting.
I guess if there's no other fate for the tree than to disappear, it would make little difference to cut the surface roots going towards my house. I read roots grow towards wet soil and the foundation keeps mostly dry. The kind of root of this particular tree is pivotal as well so I doubt it would lose much stability. I'll try to layer one of the principal branches hoping in the next years it may develop roots for propagation.
>10% chance it all goes smoothly and doesn't cause a big problem for the tree
>30% chance it dies over the next year or so from lack of water/nutrients
>30% chance some sort of fungal pathogen gets into the wound and the roots/crown/trunk start decaying from the inside, either killing it over the next 3-10 years or causing a permanent debuff to general health and fruit production
>30% chance the tree looks like it's dying for a few years but recovers (some species of Psidium are pretty tough)
those last three are gonna look basically identical and it could be a long time before you know how it went, be very patient and try not to kill it with kindness while it's recovering
the tree isn't very big or old, so any root thick enough to damage a building's foundation is likely making up a big portion of its water/nutrient uptake
since you're removing a good portion of the roots holding it up on the houseward side, that's probably the direction it'll fall over if it comes to it
if you're going through with this, my advice would be to figure out which species it is and research its tolerance of things like pests/drought/waterlogged soil,
and spray 30% metho 70% water on fricking EVERYTHING you're gonna use: boots/gloves/saws/shears/shovels/whatever might introduce microscopic fungal spores to the soil
also like the other anon said, start cloning the tree from cuttings so you have a backup ready to plant in a different spot
good luck
>spray 30% metho 70% water
what the hell is "metho"
I supposed it was methoprene, an insect growth inhibitor. Didn't make much sense to me if fungus is the big threat here.
methylated spirits in 'straya
baka
The roots are fibrous and can't harm the foundation... myrtle family.
What do you mean? Don't the roots just keep adding layers of wood as time passes? It has quite thick limbs at the base. I didn't dare to do much but the second generation of one of the superficial roots was 4cm thick, though the segment was about 8cm long before dividing again.
Fibrous root systelms have tons of tiny roots. They are small and aren't capable of damaging a foundation. Magnolias and japanese maples have fibrous root systems snd can by planted right next to the house no problem. I googled your tree and it is in the myrtle family which is a family with fibrous roots. Roots that lift foundations are much thicker. If you trim the roots like crazy on one side you coukd kill the tree. You could install bamboo root barrier if you really want to. Get the thicker stuff. It is a major PITA to install properly. If you are a Euro you will need to import it from the US -- buy on Amazon or use a freight forwarder.
>myrtle family which is a family with fibrous roots
sorry m'friend but that's incorrect, it might be true of a significant portion of Myrtaceae plants, and it might be true of OP's tree,
but you can't make generalizations like that when talking about plant families,
especially ones like Myrtaceae which have many many genus of tree whose roots can/will absolutely frick a building's foundation over time
some examples within a few hundred meters of my house are eucalyptus/syncarpia/angophora/melaleuca
i think if u gradually keep the branches pruned on the side toward the house, the root ball under the soil that mirrors the branch ball above the soil, should retreat. ask an arborist.
u could try moving the tree. like dig a huge cavity all around the entire root ball and replant it a few yards from the house
u will need to either move the house or the tree or redirect the trees growth. as we kow from bonsai trees, trees growth can be redirected via pruning. u could also stop or slow the trees general growth by pruning the right way. i think if you prune new growth from the tips of the branches this will prevent it from growing but do not do this withough reading up on it because you might kill the tree this way...
you might also put a bunch of boulders and heavy rockso n the soil next to your foundation, gradually, month by month. more weight and pressure will cause the roots to recede id imagine
>the root ball under the soil that mirrors the branch ball above the soil, should retreat. ask an arborist.
Arborist here. That's pure horseshit and you should know better.
>keep the branches pruned on the side toward the house, the root ball under the soil that mirrors the branch ball above the soil, should retreat
no, but at least you've shown some interest in horticulture, you'd probably enjoy/gain a lot from an entry level course
i can't recommend it enough for people who garden as a hobby or want to escape their indoor career