I moved into my Aunt’s old house and she had this Japanese maple growing near the back entrance. It has been there since I was a little kid but has gotten much bigger. The tree is roughly 25 years old and I believe it to be the “Blood good” cultivar. The trunk is 13 inches wide and growing 4.5 feet away from the houses foundation. I estimate the height at 20 ish feet.
Does this tree pose a risk to the foundation being the size that it is? I like the shade it provides but I’m worried about what’s going on below.
I planted a small Bloodgood 2022 because I like to have one in my front yard well away from my house. Hard to say if it will damage your home foundation but I would be concerned as you are.
Lovely tree.
Is your basement poured concrete or blocks? Do you suppose it has gravels and a drain line underneath?
But, my instincts are that I’d enjoy the tree…not try to remove it. It’s unlikely there are any roots bigger than your fore-arm, (unless there is possibly a taproot), probably most under one inch diameter. This tree is nearing full size, but may expand in width some more.
I have one now roughly the same size, not quite so close to the house, but unfortunately close to the sidewalk and driveway. I have not decided what to do with it yet.
However, of potential use to you: In digging up assorted things in the vicinity, I have encountered it’s roots at various distances. At roughly 4’ feet away, vary much at the surface, the roots were only an inch and a half to two inches (3-5 cm), fairly soft, and more than happy to dive down to get around the sidewalk, which is a lot thinner and lighter than a house.
Around 8 ft away, everything was significantly smaller, and mostly deeper as well. Probably good grafting size, which I am actually attempting. If I succeed, I will probably start downsizing the existing tree and plant one of its clones at a bit more appropriate distance, removing the original once the clone has sufficient size. I do not know if it is the same cultivar, but it has a rather similar appearance from the distance of your picture.
(Most roots are seedling stocks…not same as the plant on the top. ‘Bloodgood’).
But, if you got a piece of root and a piece of scion…should be good.
Not sure about the % of ‘takes’, but try it.
For my situation, that is my first solution. I do not know what combination it is, and I like it. There were four other types of maple in my yard and still are three, all significantly larger, so grafting on a seedling is a risky venture for me. If I knew it would stay smaller and survive on its own roots, I’d try air layering it. My first thought with a root graft was taking advantage of an existing root mass, but that can’t work and move the trunk, so now, if I’m honest, it’s more about the experimentation. I have the yard space to pursue a slower transition, and I have assorted things growing as ground cover I’d prefer to see migrate as well - woodruff, ramps, bloodroot, hostas… If I go slow enough, parts of it would just be under a different canopy and not know the difference.
If I understand correctly, you like where yours is at, it is not currently visibly causing any problems, and you’re house is on a slab. My limited exposure to Japanese maple roots suggests there is probably no problem I would worry about for that scenario save for two. 1. you obviously want your drain line to keep working, and 2. you will want to make sure it is pruned away from the roof enough to allow air/sun enough to not rot the roof. Those can be worked into planned maintenance every few years.
Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. I will leave the tree for now and just keep monitoring the situation along with some general maintenance on the tree.
