A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 tree roots killing my lawn!

hi!
we just bought this beautiful house with a couple of maple trees in the back yard. Trouble is the trees are over 50 years old and their roots are all over the place! they are visible over the lawn and look dreadful. They also provide too much shade for me to have a decent kitchen garden. my 2 questions are :
1) what can i do to get part of my lawn to grow back and what kind of lawn will grow well in shade?
2) Can i get rid of any part of the roots without damaging the tree too seriously?

would really appreciate any help.
Malika

There is grass seed out there for specifically shady areas, and I know that fescue will do alright in shade, but you need to seed it in the fall so that it has all winter to root good, before the summer heat comes.

thanks for the advice!

I don't know anything about the maple you have.....but I know about roots getting in the way of mowing. I am finding the larger the roots are getting the harder it is for the mower....thus around the base of all my liquid ambers that are in the lawn are getting a dose of Round Up (keeping off the trunk) so I don't have to mow up and down the gullies the roots are making.

I have fescue/burmuda and where it is shaded by the trees the fescue seems to dominate. Now don't ask me what kind of fescue...I haven't a clue....all this was in before I moved here....and remember I am in zone 9.

I have read (but no personal experience and not going to even attempt it) that if you have roots (from a liquid amber) that are going under concrete etc. that you can dig down and remove them and put in some kind of vertical barrier....it said it will not stop them but slow them down and you will have to do this periodically over the years. Don't trust just one source ....read, read, read and get more advise from someone who has actually done it to the same kind of tree you have.
I don't know if any of that info was of any help.
Catlover

Hello,

You might want to seriously consider raised beds. They are very attactive when done properly and also get around the problem of the roots. We have a serious drainage problem, and this has been our answer. We used limestone to give a very country feel. The trees will always win over when it comes to the grass. Our back yard is now grass-free. If you don't want to completely remove the grass, consider flag stone with grass in between.

Good Luck!

Kind Regards,
Karen