HI! My husband and I are having a dispute... ...I have a huge "double" oak tree...it is one tree, but is split into two huge trees at the base..I want to plant some plants around it and then a stone path, about 2' wide and circling the tree and at a distance of about 3' to 4' from the base of the Oak trees. Now...MY hubby says that a circle of stones 2' wide going around this tree will kill it ...
The circle will be 3' to 4' from the base of tree....will this kill the tree?

Will it kill the tree? Probably not. Will it hurt the tree? Probably.

The tree NEEDS two things. To have it's root flare exposed and for the roots just below the surface not disturbed. Those roots just under the soil supply most of the water, air and nutrients the tree needs. You may damage/cover a large percentage of the roots of that tree.

Is there somewhere else you can focus your creative attention in the yard?

If not make a deal with your husband. Call an arborist. If he/she says absolutely no harm will come to the tree then you can go ahead with plans. Spending $50 bucks for this is cheaper than couples therapy. Ultimately relationships with men are better if we yeild to their concerns. They yield to us WAY more. We need a new toaster. OK honey. The dog needs walked. OK honey. Call you mother. OK honey. They baby needs changed. OK honey.

Wish you well. Good luck with hubby.

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Teehee, thanks for the advice....I guess it is better then planting said hubby on the back 40...lol..well, I still don't see where I would be hurting this tree...you see this tree is a double oak...I used to do horse logging so I know a good guess on how big the tree is "on the stump". Each half of this oak is about 4 foot to 4 1/2 foot on the stump. You put them together and you have a 8 foot across Oak tree....the tree comes up from the ground as a "V"; the roots that you can see are huge, at least 2-3' feet across. I just find it hard to believe that with that kind of root system, I would kill a tree that HUGE, by puting a 2 foot wide stone walk way, 3-4 feet from the trunk.
I really thank you for the info though, Pamzilla. Very nice of you to relpy.
I have read some of your replies and they make sense. I guess for anyone to understand what I am talking about , they would have to see my "Tree". thank you

texaspeg
Would it be possible for you to post a picture of the tree for us to see?
I agree with you. It is better then planting hubby on the back 40. (LOL)

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Greg...
Converting one person at a time to Organics, the only way to go!! [ ME ]

Yes, I will see if I have a pic of this tree and post it...only how do I post on here? I am very new to this site....yesterday was my first time here.

You are right it's hard to grasp how big this tree is. Could you measure from the trunk to the canopy line? Then we can draw a circle with that along with the circle for your project and see exactly what percentage of the ground will be disturbed.

I still don't think you will kill the tree, especially if you are organic, don't do any tilling and give space for the root flare and trunk. I'd be less worried about a young tree because they are more adaptable, cheaper and easier to replace.

By the way, some tree species tolerate this less than others.

Check out this thread about posting pictures.
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2821

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.