I’ve recently built a koi pond beneath a beautifully crooked and gnarled Norway Pine. One of the obstacles in digging the pond was an above ground root from this tree about 8 inches in diameter. I simply dug under it, so now at it’s narrowest point my pond has a root bridging it. The water level is just barely touching the bottom of the root. The appearance of the pond itself would be greatly improved if I could raise the water level about six inches. This would leave the root half submerged in the water. My fear is that this would cause the root to rot and harm the tree.
Right now I’m considering covering the root with a thick coat of marine varnish. Will the varnish harm the tree? Could the root survive submerged without the varnish? Should I just leave the water level where it is?
Oh, I’m way out of my league, but I think the varnish would interfere with the tree’s ability to absorb nutrients through its root. On the other hand, it might be able to survive on its other roots…
I think a littoral tree could survive having a root submerged, but I don’t know how much this particular species is suited to living near water in the first place.
The root is well planted on the other side of the pond (across the pond from the trunk). The section that would be submerged (abouth 3 feet in length) isn’t absorbing anything but air right now, anyway. This tree is very tall and bent. There are other roots to supply nutrients, but I think the root in question might be the deciding factor in a big blow. I’m more concerned about how the root supports the structural integrity of the tree, however, I would hope that it could still deliver nutrients from that part of the root that is planted on the other side of the pond. Do these nutrients travel through the bark or the wood of the root?
Submerging the root should not harm the tree, but it will suck the water out of your pond faster than you think. If rotting then occurs, cutting the root is your next option.
Cutting may stunt the tree for a year or so. But, providing it has multiple root stems of equal size to draw nutrients, it shouldn’t kill the pine.
If you cut, do it in early spring and use a root building water soluble fertilizer after.
If you submerge, no need to water that tree anymore.
And if you want to seal wrap the offending root, consider that it will still grow and extend, eventually breaking the seal and exposing itself to the water anyways.
Thanks, guys. I forgot that the sealed root would still grow. I really don’t want to risk the root rotting because this tree’s center of gravity is so far from the trunk, and all the other roots are on the opposite side of the one in question.
I’m thinking that I might submerge this root unprotected and at the first sign of rot, drain off the six inches of water and then varnish it. Any thoughts?
According to one of my plant encyclopaedias, overwatering of pines usually results in general poor appearance, and yellowing of needles especially on the older needles. Pines naturally grow on rocky slopes or sandy barrens with excellent drainage. Five needled pines usually need watering in California (a place of low rainfall). There is a difference between giving it the water it needs, and giving it more water than it can handle.
Submerging ANY tree that does not naturally grow in swampy areas or on river banks is asking for trouble. Especially if the tree has not been submerged before. I would bet that submerging that root will probably cause it to rot eventually. Maybe not, but I personally wouldn’t try it.
I also wouldn’t try the maritime paint idea. Roots like the trunk continue to expand in size as the tree grows, and eventually the expanding bark will break the seal provided by the paint. Meaning, you will have to re-apply the paint each year (and drain the pond to get to the root).
Anyway, I would leave the water level as it is. I also would have chosen a different spot for the pond, but that’s just me :).
Howdy, UM. I’ll check with the wife (a forester) and she what she thinks… but the following ideas come to mind:
Arborists use tar to seal cuts, bruises, etc… on trees, and I suspect marine varnish probably wouldn’t hurt anything.
Can’t speak for Norway pine, but many stream-side spruce in the Pac-NW have roots in water and don’t seem to mind - think streams in Olympic Nat’l Park…
How are you lining the pond ? might be a bit harder but interesting to dig a little deeper, and have a lil’ bridge (wire+cement+ a little dirt) to keep the root away, and let the koi pass below.
Less to do with the tree than the ageing of the coating… why not silicone, or plumbing grade latex ? more flexible, no more toxic - maybe less - and probably longer lasting considering full immersion, depending on the type.
O le mea a tamaali’i fa’asala, a o le mea a tufanua fa’alumaina.
The pond is lined with 45 mil EPDM rubber. I’ve used silicone to seal between the liner and the root. Although it’s labeled “transparent” it looks like snot after it drys, so I can’t use that to cover the root. It’s important that the root remains looking like a root. That’s the way I designed it. I let my artistic vision override practicality, though. I assumed submerging the root wouldn’t be a problem. I only started having doubts when it came to filling the pond up to just below the level of the surrounding ground (six inches above the bottom of the root). The pond is already built, filled (except for that last six inches) and stocked and I’m quite happy with the way it is. It’s just that a whole lot less of the liner would be visible if I could raise the water level another six inches. Depth isn’t a problem. There’s already a foot and a half of underwater clearance beneath the root.
I’ve considered the bridge idea. That way I could cover the root in rubber liner and silicone and use the bridge as a mask, however I find the engineering challange to be a bit daunting.
Doobieous (how appropriate!) has kind of scared me off the idea of unprotected submersion. I’d love to hear Jorge’s wife’s advice on the matter.
She also thanks you for the opportunity to berate me for not immediately knowing the answer.[/slapmode]
Bridge might be the only way to go, unless you want to go totally Rube Goldberg [who was that guy, anyway ?] and talk fish ladders, or a miniature-scale Panama Canal…
Wasnt Rube Goldberg that artist who drew the ridiculously complicated contraptions to accomplish otherwise simple tasks? You know, the cuckoo coming out of the clock pushes a little metal ball down a ramp, where it falls onto a lever, releasing a balloon which floats into the path of an electric fan, sending it bumping into the pail of water which then empties onto your head, waking you up. I think he lived in the early part of the 1900s and maybe drew for the New Yorker?. Dont know exact dates though. I remember that Sesame Street had a Rube Goldberg-inspired sequence where the letters of the alphabet popped out at different times.
It is better to waste your youth than do nothing with it. – Georges Courteline
TSP–Yes. Rube Goldberg lived from 1883 to 1970, and drew for a number of publications. His humorous drawings of complicated machinery made his name synonomous for ridiculous projects. See www.reuben.org/fiftyplus/goldberg.html for details.
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