Stumbled on a stat about oak tree root spread that blew my mind

I was reading a forestry report from the University of Georgia last night and found out a mature oak's root system can extend 3 to 7 times past the drip line. That means the roots on a 60 foot wide oak could stretch over 200 feet sideways. Has anyone else run into wild root zones on a removal job that caught you off guard?

2 comments

2 Comments

danielb4317d ago

Yeah I had a 40 year old red oak in a tight backyard that sent roots right under a neighbor's driveway and cracked it. Dug into that job thinking the roots would stay close by and ended up pulling a 15 foot lateral that looked like a snake.

troythompson17d ago

Man that story about the red oak and the driveway hits close to home. I helped a buddy pull a 70 year old white oak out of a front yard last spring and we found a root that had snuck under his foundation slab, probably 30 feet from the trunk. We were pulling with a truck and that thing didn't want to let go, it felt like the tree was still holding onto the whole neighborhood. The drip line stuff in those reports is no joke, I've learned to plan for roots going way farther than I ever guessed. Your mileage may vary but I always dig a test hole now before I touch anything within sight of a house or driveway.