Landscaping Design to Preserve Water Pipes in SIlver Spring MD

Proper landscaping design can preserve the water pipes to and from your home in Silver Spring MD.

Tree roots are naturally attracted to water and sewer lines; these pipes are a source of water, nutrients, and oxygen that the trees need. When a root finds a leak in a pipe, it will quickly make its way into the smallest crack, making the crack bigger, and the root will be growing bigger as it goes deeper into the pipe. Eventually, the roots will stop up the pipe, and stop the flow of waste coming from your home.

Ever see those yards around town, with the front yards dug up from the house to the street? You can guess what happened – tree roots broke into and clogged up the pipes. The pipes broke, and thousands of dollars later, the homeowner has root-free pipes.

So what can been done to reduce the likelihood that tree roots will cause that kind of damage to your pipes? The right landscaping design, using slow-growing trees with less aggressive root systems, placed the proper distance away from the pipes at your Silver Spring MD home.

Trees to Avoid If You Want to Protect Your Water Pipes
Certain trees should never be planted near water lines, as they are often fast-growing with particularly aggressive roots.

  • Many species in the Acer (maple) genus
  • Populus species
  • Ashes
  • Sycamore
  • Several oaks
  • Willows, basswood
  • Tuliptree
  • Elms
  • Birches
  • Mulberry
  • Figs
  • Large eucalyptus
  • Beech


Root Barriers
In addition, some homeowners choose to create root barriers around their pipes to slow down or prevent roots from getting too close to pipes. Slow-release chemicals, such as copper sulfate and potassium hydroxide, spread near the sewer line will discourage growth into the area. Metal or wood barriers buried 6 to 12 inches deeper than the pipe and running vertically next to sewer lines can also stop roots from getting at the pipes.

For more information on landscaping in Silver Spring MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has been Silver Spring, MD’s leading licensed landscape contractor. Located in Montgomery County, Maryland since 1979, the company has designed, installed, and cared for landscape projects and irrigation systems.

 

Landscaping in Rockville, MD: Small Trees and Shrubs, Less Aggressive Root Systems

If you’re looking to add small trees or shrubs to you landscaping in Rockville, MD – choose those with less aggressive root systems. That’s because aggressive root systems can cause some severe damage to your hardscapes.

The bottom line is that choosing slow-growing small trees or bushes with less aggressive root systems species for your landscaping in Rockville MD – along with properly preparing the planting site – helps to protect your hardscapes.

Site Preparation
You should plant your small trees or shrubs at least 10 feet away from your hardscapes. If you decide that you’d like to install a root barrier around your tree, the barrier should extend at least 2 feet below the soil surface. It should be at least 5 feet away from both the hardscaping and the tree’s planting hole and should extend along the entire length of the hardscaping near the tree.

Slow-Growing Deciduous Trees with Less Aggressive Root Systems
The following can be usually be planted 10 feet away from your hardscaping, without causing  problems:

  • Japanese maple cultivars
  • Ilex species
  • Several types of magnolias
  • Carolina buckthorn
  • Quince
  • Wintersweet
  • Acoma crape myrtle
  • Certain crabapples
  • Hoptree
  • Stewartia
  • Weeping Higan and Hally Jolivette cherries

    Slow-Growing Evergreen Trees with Maximum Height Under 20 Feet
    Certain slow-growing trees with a maximum height under 20 feet are unlikely to damage hardscaping and offer year-round foliage.
  • Boxwood tree
  • Dr. Hurd manzanita
  • Tea-oil
  • Yennan camelia
  • Mediterranean fan palm
  • Akapuka, variegatum Japanese privet
  • Evergreen magnolias
  • Some omanthus and photinia species or varieties
  • Cabbage palm
  • Awabuki sweet viburnum
  • Weeping blue atlas cedar
  • Chinese and Japanese plum yews
  • Fernspray cypress
  • Slender hinoki cypress.


For more information on landscaping in Rockville MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has been Rockville, MD’s leading licensed landscape contractor. Located in Montgomery County, Maryland since 1979, the company has designed, installed, and cared for landscape projects and irrigation systems.