Taking Place In The Trees is an offshoot of Taking Place, the online conversation between two registered landscape architects. I have developed Taking Place In The Trees to address issues specifically related to woody plants in the landscape, and hope to engage other landscape architects and arborists in the discussion. Please join in!
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Deborah Howe
Taking Place In The Trees 
Hi,
Just found your pages by accident , we are UK based arboricultural consultants.
I would like your permission to use the occasional photo (more the lifting) showing the large root mass, to help inform clients of what is underneath a tree !!!
Would put on copyright n ext to/under photo if required, let me know.
Thankyou for your time
Hello Ms. Howe, and appreciative greetings from Illinois. As an ISA BCMA (#IL0020), I find your blogs cutting edge and on target in their accuracy. Thank you.
Here is a topic i ask you to consider as something for your blog: ramial chipped wood. Some links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramial_chipped_wood
Click to access doc59b.pdf
http://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/4025/1/FLS-002.pdf (NOTE: No mention of ramial chipped wood, but “The machine used was able to chip
trees and limbs up to 6 inches in diameter.” This is close to size of ramial chipped wood.
Greg Smith
Greg, thanks for your kind words and the links. I’ve heard about using chipped wood (and foliage, in some cases — yes?) to add both organic matter and micronutrients to the soil, and will read the links with interest. Do you use ramial chipped wood on your farm?
Hi Deborah. This is the only place I found to contact you. I have a situation where I have a Pane tree root about 200mm (7″.87′ inches) in diameter running diagonally to where I need to lay a foundation for a boundary wall. I don’t want to cut the root. Please could you advise. hiltonprojects@gmail.com
Thank you.
Hi, Richard — thanks for your note. My thoughts:
That’s a big root. Where are you located, how far down to you have to go with the wall foundation, how high and thick is the wall, and what is it made of? What kind of pine tree, and how big is it?
One solution I have used when a landscape wall and a tree have needed to occupy the same space is to specify a grade beam to bridge over the root and support the wall. With a root growing diagonally under the wall, of course, the grade beam can get to be pretty long, depending on the root’s angle.
A root that thick will not move; it’s fully lignified, so bare-rooting it to move it won’t get you anywhere. Another option, depending on tree’s proximity to wall, might be to interrupt the wall for the tree. If that’s not possible, and the grade beam idea doesn’t work for you, you may have to cut the root, using a sharp saw. That’s a big cut for any size tree, and one that may well shorten the tree’s life.
Good luck! Let me know what you decide to do, and how it works out, or if you have more questions.
Thank you for your blog and it’s counterpart. I found your sites while searching for links about transplanting for a client. I am a certified arborist and will start the MLA program at the University of Washington in fall. It is exciting to see proper cultural practices being promoted from a LA perspective. All the best.
Kate Haefele
Thanks, Kate. I’m curious; how did you find the sites? Some people see the links in arborists’ websites, some see them in LAs websites, and some are just Googling various topics. I just took a look at your blog and hope you post more — your Featured Tree series is really nice.
I googled root washing and your site was a few results down. Thanks for the compliment! With working in the field and all the grad school stuff, the blog has taken back burner, but that is nice to hear. I hope to work on it more soon.
Hello, I’d like to know if these images were taken in Massachusetts? I’m working on an urban forestry project in western Mass, and looking for case study examples in a similar climate. Thank you!
Hi, Rebekah — Most of the photos are from Massachusetts-based projects. The posts should credit the companies involved (check the bottom of the post you’re interested in); most of the work was done in eastern MA, though at least one project was carried out by a NH firm. What’s the project you’re working on?
Thank you for this informative website. I would like to ask permission to use some of your photos in a power point presentation to students in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture Programs at Fleming College in Lindsay, Ontario Canada. Great information.
Hi, Brenda — thanks for you kind words. You’re welcome to use the photos; will you tell me what the presentation is about? Thanks.