Don’t Plant Trees Too Close to Your Home

Trees are the true gems of any landscape. They are eye-catching features that can also shade your property from some heat. However, when it comes to maintaining trees on your property, there are a few things that we recommend you consider for the health and safety of your family and property in the long haul.

As wonderful as trees can be, large tree roots have been known to cause structural damage if they are spreading out under the soil too closely to your home. Trees can even cause roof and exterior damages if they are close enough to cascade over your home. These and several more issues can occur if your trees are not properly planted. You can avoid all of these issues by following proper tree planting guidelines so that there is ample space between your trees and your home.

Poorly planted trees can cause structural damage to your home and pose a safety hazard to your family.

Trees can cause structural damage in several different ways when they are not planted correctly on your property. Some of the problems that you should be aware of include the following:

• Large tree roots pose the biggest threat to your property. Trees are humble giants, but they require the right amount of space in order to grow their large and astonishingly strong roots. No matter the amount of space they have, a tree’s roots will find ways to spread out underneath your soil. This is often what causes structural damage. Poorly planted trees can break up sidewalks, driveways, and even the foundations of homes.
• Poorly planted trees can result in roof damage and clogged gutters. A tree’s limbs can hang over your roof if it grows too close to your home. As hanging branches scratch against your roof, they can accelerate the erosion of your shingles. As your tree sheds, its dead leaves and branches will wind up in your gutters and affect their drainage function if not cleaned out.
• Branches can damage your home’s exterior. Tree branches and twigs can cause cosmetic damages to the exterior of your home as they grow and scratch against the paint.
• Dead trees can cause harm to your loved ones. Dead branches are unpredictable and can pose a safety hazard for your family and loved ones by falling off at the wrong time.

How far should a tree be planted from your home?

So, how far should trees be planted away from your home? There are some general rules to follow when it comes to planting trees in order to keep them a safe distance away from your home. By following these guidelines, you can rule out a lot of potential damage. We recommended that you plant trees anywhere from 10-20 feet away. Specific distances for how far a tree should be planted from your home include the following:

• Large trees with a mature height of 70 feet or greater should be planted 20 feet away from your home.
• Medium trees with a mature height of under 70 feet should be planted 15 feet or more away from your home.
• Small trees with a mature height less than 30 feet should be planted 10 feet away from your home.