Do Magnolia roots cause structural damage to buildings?

Hi everyone,

I'm a very inexperienced gardener trying to sort out my little garden. My question is this: I've got a magnolia tree in a pot which I'd like to put in the corner of my garden. I'm worried the the root system might cause me some problems though. The tree would be approximately 6 feet from my neighbours garage and about 25 feet from my house. A further hazard is a block-paved path running directly alongside the proposed site of the tree. I'm not sure but there may also be a drain/sewage pipe running quite nearby

The tree is magnolia "star wars" and was sold as a small to medium sized tree. I would love to plant it but I'm very concerned it might damage the path, neighbours garage floor or worse of all the foundations of the house.


Thanks everyone.

 

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Hi Spotty

Trees very rarely cause considerable damage to sufficiently built structures such as houses. Where tree roots have been seen to be the cause of damage it is usually due to the fact that the root has taken advantage of a problem such as a leaking water pipe or insufficient foundations. When coming up against a solid obstruction a root is likely to find its way around it than expend energy trying to break through it. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Subsidence can be a problem where trees are located next to buildings on heavy, shrinkable clay soil. In summer when the tree absorbs a lot of water from the saturated ground this can lead to shrinkage, causing the soil to come away from walls and foundations.

[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Fences, sheds, garden walls and other structures built without solid foundations may suffer from heave brought about by tree roots, hence considerations should be made before deciding what to plant and where.

Hope this helps.

Matthew
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Thanks Matthew,

That put's my mind at rest. Someone at work said I could put the tree in a large plastic tub and bury it up to the brim of the container to check the root growth as an added precaution but surely wouldn't the tree eventually need repotting?

 

The thing with keeping trees in pots is that they can quickly absorb all the nutrients in the pot. If you do decide on this you will have to make sure you keep the tree well fed, preferably with well-rotted organic manure, as well as chucking in some worms for good measure.

 

hi spotty,

'star wars' is such a lovely thing your neighbour would be mad to object.....

enjoy

emily

 

I'm sure he'd love it as long as it doesn't damage his property. Any idea how high it would be likely to get? I know magnolia's are slow growers.

 

According to the deeds of my house, it was built in 1906 so there has been plenty of time for issues to come to light.

Our local soil is horrible clay.

Next door has a massive tree out the back, whose roots definitely go right to the back wall of my house (I saw them when digging the garden over). Judging by the size of the tree, with my limited tree knowledge I'd say its been there for a good 40 years plus, so plenty of time for it to eat my foundations.

I only bought the house last year, and of course a surveyor had to come to approve the mortgage. He saw no problem. All my walls seem to be the right shape.

 

Cheers everyone, that's just what I wanted to hear.