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lmarks_gw

Will my neighbor's excavation threaten a 50' maple?

lmarks
11 years ago

There's a 50 foot tall Norway (?) maple right inside the fence that divides our backyard from our neighbor's backyard. Our neighbor (a lovely guy) had some guys excavating his backyard to lay a patio, and in the course of digging they exposed half the roots of this tree-- these are small, graded backyards, and they were trying to level out more space. The demo guys were already hacking off parts of the roots before my neighbor came out and stopped them. But they continued digging below the roots, so now there are several large roots, sitting exposed in mid-air. Work on the backyard has stopped for now while my neighbor figures out how to landscape around this issue. He wants to preserve the tree as much as we do.

I called the service who last pruned this tree, and the guy there recommended re-burying the roots as soon as possible, and in the meantime keeping the roots wet, even wrapping them in wet towels or blankets. I shared this information with my neighbor and we've done our best to keep the roots wet and wrapped, but they're still exposed.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has an opinion on the best way to care for this tree and help it recover. I know Norway maples are not a choice variety, but this one is so big and old, and in a city backyard its shade and greenery are much appreciated. So far it's been vigorous, and I'd hate to see it die because of this. Thanks for reading.

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