Question
I have a ash tree in front of my yard, the roots are all protruding above the ground, they have damaged my driveway. The roots that are show 8 feet in diameter. My question is can I remove the roots above of the ground. will it be damage the tree.
How deep the roots of the ash tree toward to the ground ?
Answer
I am not sure what you mean by "8 feet in diameter" I am guessing you are talking about the width from the trunk and the spread of the roots not the diameter of the roots itself.
Cutting the above ground part of the roots will damage the root system. Up to about 25% of a root system can be removed without causing serious damage. I would cut the roots off along the driveway and install a root barrier . You will need to dig down about 12-18 inches deep along the drive to get all or most of the roots. The root system is mostly with in the first 2 feet of soil. The other exposed roots can be covered with sand if you do not cover more than 2 - 3 inches deep. Here is a web link to the root barriers. http://www.4specs.com/s/32/32-9452.html
