So we have to remove it. But I'm wondering -- is there any possibility that it could be saved and transplanted somewhere else? We don't really have room for it anywhere, but if anyone would want a free weeping Atlantic blue cedar, you're welcome to it. It's about 6" in diameter at this point. It's pretty two-dimensional right now, since it was planted so close to the house, but it's starting to reach out more to the side so it would have dimensionality if you want it.

OR, do we just have to hack it up and somehow do in the roots? What is the best way to go about this, anyway? I've never done this with a tree located in a place like this before -- we did once in NC when we lived there, but our neighbor hooked the trunk of the tree up to his truck and pulled, once we'd root-pruned it as far as we could with pickaxes. This is too far from the road for that.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this. If you're interested, we're on the west side and I can give you details via e-mail.

So knowing that, do you have any thoughts on how to go about murdering the poor thing or possibly giving it to someone and saving its life?

The lifting of the walk could probably be addressed by/indicate a need for replacement of the walk. Without seeing the situation I can't tell what approach would make the most sense.

Transplanting is not likely to be possible, based on what it sounds like the situation is.

(the cedar's big brother, an upright atl. blue, cracked the walk farther down the driveway...the tree was felled by a wind, strangely enough, but we are going to have to replace that part of the walk, definitely. And then when we saw the crack up by the weeping, we figured that we had to get rid of it, too.

I'm completely fine with the way it's growing *above* ground, but below ground I was very concerned.

Or am I misreading what you're writing and you're saying that the crack up by the weeping isn't caused by the tree? Thanks so much for your replies, btw. I very much respect your experience and opinion on this.

Walkways, drives and patios are a bit different. Because they are constructed of relatively thin slabs or individual pavers, they are more easily lifted, cracked or damaged by roots growing close to the surface. Sometimes just altering the placement of the walkway can provide a solution or replacing the walkway with another material.

A photo of the tree placement would help to visualize the situation but I doubt I'd consider anything as radical as moving the tree.

Most grafted conifers (and much other nursery stock) sold here prove to be rootbound when examined. A type like a blue Atlas cedar that forms a large heavy top fairly early in life may topple over because of the inadequate anchorage provided by roots deformed by careless container culture.

bboy, it wasn't a case of toppling over from the root -- it broke about 8' up, just sheared. My guess is that the tight crotches made it weak, like bradford pears, and it sheared open where the first big branch came off the trunk.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Do you or does anyone have any ideas about how to fix the sidewalk up near the house? If we redo it as regular sidewalk, which would probably be best unless there's an alternative I don't know (we don't want to put the ecopavers right up close to the door), will it just crack again?