Tree roots cracking wall
Jacqueline148
Posts: 2
i have two very beautiful palms growing in a retaining wall and one of them is very close to the wall and causing it to crack, it's a breeze block wall that has been rendered and is only two years old but a block shaped crack is appearing in the render. I don't want to loose the tree it's beautiful it's one of those that looks like a giant pineapple. My question is how long do you think I have got if I do nothing before the wall is pushed out completely and does any one have any suggestions to slow down the process 
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i'm assuming you not in the UK, or at least on the mainland.
the bigger the palm gets the more the roots will spread, its only a matter of time before the wall loses it battle with gravity and comes down unfortunately.
It's not the answer you want but as far as I can see you have two options - move the tree or move the wall
Last edited: 02 October 2017 16:40:46
You're fortunate indeed to live in the SW and cultivate P.canariensis to such a stature !
You might only be 'buying time' , but is it feasible to alter the structure of the wall ? i.e. extend further outwards . The possibility of moving something of that size would be a major problem .
If this has happened after only 2 years I would be questioning the construction of the wall. It should have been reinforced to support the weight of soil behind it. If that had been done properly I wouldn't expect 2 years of root growth to have that much effect.
The wall can be rebuilt further away from the tree root and give it more room to spread so I expect this is what we will have to do. I suppose I knew there was no easy answer but thank you all so much for taking the time to reply to my questions.