Bald Cypress Knees in Lawn

TRex10 said:
Wow, I see this is an old thread but... Wow. I go to forums of all types for different advice... I've never seen any groups this rude/disrespectful posters...
It's not trees vs perfect lawn. We bought our home with two Cypress trees already in the back yard. A few years later and the kids can't play there without breaking an ankle! And... The knees have pushed up concrete under our patio...
I love everything about the trees except the knees. I browsed here hoping for a solution other than chopping them down.
It sounds like no other viable option for me.
Any management solutions developed in the past couple years?!
Click to expand...
Trex10 I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the attitude here.. I bought a house with what I thought was a beautiful stand of 25 Cypress trees growing in a circle about 60 feet in diameter. I wanted to thin them out immediately because there is no way for that many Cypress trees to be healthy in that amount of space. Proof of that is the fact that my neighbor has ONE of the same trees that is the same age as mine and her canopy diameter is the same size as all of mine combined. Years later I can't even walk anywhere in my 1/2 acre. The knees and roots are pushing over my sea wall (estimate to repair? $100K+) pushing up the patios and cracking the foundation of my house. My neighbors who each have one or two trees are not overwhelmed by knees like I am. Guess why I never cut them down... The city Arborist. Now I have 25 unhealthy, skinny 70 foot tall trees dropping large dead branches faster than they can be picked up, I can't use my lawn and my home and patios are severely damaged. Now in my 60's I am still weed whacking instead of mowing because no commercial service will do it due to the knees. If one ARBORIST had used a little sense and reason 20 years ago I could have a couple beautiful healthy Cypress trees. Oh yeah, the impact fees and labor to remove them, if I was allowed to do so, would be hundreds of thousand of dollars (no, I didn't make that up). So don't expect an over-credentialed, under experienced tree hugger to offer any helpful advice, just blanket statements about grass vs trees and how lucky we are to have beautiful knees on our properties (like 99% of them don't). By the way, I am not a fan of manicured chemically fertilized lawns either so that's not my beef. Peace, I'm out.
 
Hello to all on this thread, tree and grass lovers alike. I have one beautiful bald cypress that I planted maybe 10 years ago about 8' back from the edge of a small pond. Needless to say it has really grown and the knees are coming too. I came to this thread for some info about the knees and I think I have found it. I do not have the time right now to read all the posts but I did gather not to cut the knees. That's fine with me but they are in the grass.
SO....my question, finally, is can I cover the knees with dirt or compost to raise the ground level?
I know the knees will come up through that at at some point but I surely do not want to hurt the tree.
Spike G said it could cost hundreds of thousand of dollars to remove his trees. I only have one I'm sorry to say but I'd not take $100k for it. Since it is about 30' from the rear of my house at some point it may bring itself inside. I'll not live long enough to see that but I can say it is welcome at anytime. We can coexist.
So if someone could answer about covering the knees with a few inches of dirt or compost I'd be most thankful. And sorry for the long comment. Make a smile....plant a tree.
Thanks, Mark.
 
marke said:
Hello to all on this thread, tree and grass lovers alike. I have one beautiful bald cypress that I planted maybe 10 years ago about 8' back from the edge of a small pond. Needless to say it has really grown and the knees are coming too. I came to this thread for some info about the knees and I think I have found it. I do not have the time right now to read all the posts but I did gather not to cut the knees. That's fine with me but they are in the grass.
SO....my question, finally, is can I cover the knees with dirt or compost to raise the ground level?
I know the knees will come up through that at at some point but I surely do not want to hurt the tree.
Spike G said it could cost hundreds of thousand of dollars to remove his trees. I only have one I'm sorry to say but I'd not take $100k for it. Since it is about 30' from the rear of my house at some point it may bring itself inside. I'll not live long enough to see that but I can say it is welcome at anytime. We can coexist.
So if someone could answer about covering the knees with a few inches of dirt or compost I'd be most thankful. And sorry for the long comment. Make a smile....plant a tree.
Thanks, Mark.
Click to expand...
Mark I do not have experience with bald cypress. But to answer your question it depends! Native soil types and imported soil type, play a role. Typically you need to be very careful with fill material in the root zone, too much fill can suffocate the root system or lead to drainage issues. I’d GUESS a few inches wouldn’t be much of a issue, but would only have short term gains.
 
@marke; Welcome to the TreeBuzz forum! I think you are going to like it here! Congratulations on making your first post!

I'm not a pro arb like many on this forum, so I cannot offer an opinion as to your question, other than to say you've already acquired the opinions of a couple of pros whose views should count.

My main reason for jumping in here is just to provide a welcome, and also to lobby for some photos of this gorgeous tree. I'd especially like to see some up close photos of the knees you are talking about. It would be greatly appreciated if you could manage it, as long as you are comfortable with it. Thanks in advance.

Tim
 
marke said:
Hello to all on this thread, tree and grass lovers alike. I have one beautiful bald cypress that I planted maybe 10 years ago about 8' back from the edge of a small pond. Needless to say it has really grown and the knees are coming too. I came to this thread for some info about the knees and I think I have found it. I do not have the time right now to read all the posts but I did gather not to cut the knees. That's fine with me but they are in the grass.
SO....my question, finally, is can I cover the knees with dirt or compost to raise the ground level?
I know the knees will come up through that at at some point but I surely do not want to hurt the tree.
Spike G said it could cost hundreds of thousand of dollars to remove his trees. I only have one I'm sorry to say but I'd not take $100k for it. Since it is about 30' from the rear of my house at some point it may bring itself inside. I'll not live long enough to see that but I can say it is welcome at anytime. We can coexist.
So if someone could answer about covering the knees with a few inches of dirt or compost I'd be most thankful. And sorry for the long comment. Make a smile....plant a tree.
Thanks, Mark.[/QUOTE

What exactly is it that you wish to accomplish with regard to the tree, Marke? Before prescribing mitigation, it would be helpful to know exactly what you want as an end result.
Click to expand...
 
Hello again.
Thanks to everyone for the advice. This is exactly what I was looking for and the answers make perfect sense about suffocating the roots. The drainage is a small issue but the mulching will only help with that as it will help put the water back towards the pond area.

I will surely take some photos but I will also have to contact Verizon as I'm having trouble uploading photos from my phone to the computer. Once I have that problem cleared away I will be posting some pictures.
Again, thank you for the help.
Mark.
 
This is for cerviarborist and southsoundtree.
I guess what I'm trying to accomplish is to get the knees covered to a point so I will not trip over 'em when I walk in the yard. And I am surely not wanting to fight with the tree as you said souuthsoundtree. I love it and and do not want to hurt it in any way. That is why I asked the question to begin with. From what several said I can cover the knees with an inch or so of mulch and it will not damage the tree. This is only maybe 5% of the knees that are growing. It is just the ones that are out in the grass that is giving me a problem. I know they will grow back up through but that is ok when the time comes.
 
Now that I know what your objective is, heres my suggestion.

You may want to consult with an arborist with tree-preservation/ tree-protection and root-pruning experience. You might well be able to root prune to deliniate an area separating essential tree roots from those which are growing into the parts of the yard where you walk. A competent arborist with root pruning experience may be able to do that and then install a root barrier to keep them from growing back into that area (for about 15 years)

Then you can grind the trip hazards down to grade level and enjoy your yard, while the tree enjoys the rest of the wetland.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom