Liquid amber

Hello, I am a new member and I have a question about a tree .
I live in an old cottage and in the front garden I have a beautiful liquid amber tree. I love the tree but I am a little concerned of the possibility of root damage to my house. I have read conflicting advise and just don’t know what to do.
The tree is at least 35 years old and is about 6 foot from the house. The tree is fairly tall reaching the start of my roof but the trunk is quite small!
Any advise would be gratefully received.
Regards Sara

 

Sounds a bit close to me, nice tree though.
They get pretty big.
Surprised after 35 years its not bigger.

 

Thank you for your reply. Actually I’ve had another look it’s more like 8foot from house but yes it is rather close!
I have actually pruned it a bit over the years so guess that’s kept the height down a bit.
Many thanks

 

I've noticed quite a few getting planted as street trees around here.

 

Oh that’s interesting, where abouts is that?

 

Where I live,
In Kent.

 

Ah okay, I asked as I’ve not seen many myself . Hoping I’ve got the right name for my tree !!

 

Yeah looks like one, turn fantastic colours in autumn.
Probably could be mistaken for a maple in summer from a distance.

 

Googling 'liquidambar root system' isn't too reassuring. They have both shallow surface roots and a deep tap root. Not recommended for planting close to a house. You could probably root-prune it, though, by chopping all the way round with a sharp spade, so it has to rely on the tap root.

 

That’s interesting and an idea worth looking into! I am very fond of the tree and as you probably realise I want to keep it if I can .
many thanks for your reply.

 

Until it blows down in a gale.

 

I have now found out that my tree is a ….
Liquidambar Styraciflua Corky Sweetgum so maybe a bit smaller than originally thought! the trunk of the tree is quite small for this 35 year old.
tree.
I still have mixed feeling about it as I love the tree but also worry about damage to my old cottage!

 

Thank you for your comments, very helpful and I will look into this.