Concerning some Heritage River Birch trees

[Alph]

Hello all,

We have three river birch trees, each having four of its own trunks. They are about 11 years old and I would estimate their height at around 20-25ft. I have only trimmed the branches at ground level every year to open the tree up and also stop it from disturbing the people walking in road sidewalk.

But in the past year, we have some roots do damage to our footpath(which hasn't been taken care of yet) and it is infiltrating the lawn area such that grass is dying. So now we are worried as we also have a sprinkler system and the trees are all close to the house(about 15-20ft away) and much closer to the footpath. Should we remove them? Because I am only guessing the growth rate is going to increase significantly, especially for the root's size/length. Or will pruning the branch collars at the very top help stop/reduce growth of the tree and roots? My major worry is, will the roots continue to grow after 11 years? When will they stop?

I should mention that one of the 'leaders' of one tree seems to have matured in that the peeling notion of barks is gone and it has become more rigid and rough. Is maturity an indication that it and its roots will stop growing further? This 'mature' tree is the closest one to the house and perhaps from which the roots are entering to the footpath and definitely the lawn.

And I am guessing the surface roots will also grow in size? If more significant surface roots are to be created, I don't want to have to deal with removing a bigger tree and its huge roots spread all over the lawn. Would rather deal with the situation as quickly as possible without much further risk or damage.

Thanks for reading.

 

[ATH]

the most significant roots are going to be within 4-5' of the trunk. Generally, after that they should taper off to pretty fine (non-damaging) roots. If there is a crack in the wall/foundation and there is water in it, the roots could find that hospital. They will not, however initiate a crack in the foundation that far away from the trunk.

It is unlikely roots will damage a sprinkler system unless it is leaking and they like the extra water coming from the leak...but is that really the tree's fault or a problem with a leaky pipe?

River birch do have shallow roots, so it is not uncommon to have some of those. If they are several feet away from the trunk in the yard, that is probably because you have compacted soil and/or poorly drained soil. Shade is usually more of a problem for turf than roots.

 

[Oldmaple]

The roots will continue growing. These trees have not reached maturity (although maturity in trees does not mean they stop growing). As long as you don't go too near the trunk you can occasionally remove offending roots. How many and how often needs to be assessed on site. As the trunks get older they do lose their "peeling" nature and become more scaly, this is normal.

 

[BC WetCoast]

You should remove them immediately, lawns are a way more valuable.