In an ideal world, all landscape trees are planted at a good distance away from your house, but the location of a favored tree isn't always ideal. If you have a tree growing close to your home but you don't want it removed, then special care will be necessary to ensure the safety of your home and plant.
1. Limb Up
Branches low on the trunk can scrape against your home's exterior walls, rubbing off paint or even pulling up strips of the siding. In high wind situations, low branches may damage window screens or break glass. Your tree service can limb up the tree, which means they will remove the lower limbs on the trunk so that they won't scrape against the home.
2. Reduce Spread
A large tree crown that overhangs your roof may provide shade, but it may also result in branches scraping against the shingles or falling limbs puncturing the roof. Reducing the overall spread of the crown can keep the roof out of the branch's reach. Your tree service will trim back the branches by about a third of their length when performing crown reduction, which reduces crown size without stressing the tree.
3. Balance Crown
One major concern when trees are near the home is that they can blow down in a storm and land on your roof. Trees that are heavier on one side due to unbalanced crown growth are more likely to fall. Proper pruning will thin out the denser side of the crown and make the tree more symmetrical in both size and mass, which greatly reduces the fall risk. This kind of pruning may also involve removing large, heavy branches that are on the side of the tree facing the house.
4. Add Supports
Certain tree forms are riskier when growing near the home. Trees with forked or multiple trunks, for example, can be prone to splitting and dropping on the house. Your tree service can add supports and anchors to reduce risk. For example, using a large bolt to splint together a forked trunk reduces the chances of splitting. Staking a tree is another option if it is at risk of falling down.
5. Install Barriers
The underground roots can also pose a danger, particularly to your home's foundation, when the tree is growing close to the house. If you are set on keeping the tree, it might be a good idea to have a root barrier installed in the ground between the home and the roots. This will prevent the roots from encroaching upon the foundation.
Contact a tree service if you need additional help with caring for a tree growing close to your home.
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