Tree people help- Listed tree with roots in our well- options?

[Cathpot]

We have a huge Monterey pine at the end of the garden with its roots in an old well- which we have just started using as water for the house. The roots are huge and the tree will be pulling quite a bit of water from the well. We legally can not hurt the tree in anyway and I don't want to weaken it in case it falls and takes out next door . Question is- can we remove the roots that are in the well without hurting the tree- (could be done over a long time period if that would help. )

[isthistoonosy]

My oh owns forest (mostly pine and spruce) and use to be a lumberjack but is also very early to.bed. If he knows anything I'll get back to this thread tomorrow.

[isthistoonosy]

Oh.what ish height is the tree and how far from.the.well. Also pic will esp.showing the top will be useful to assess its general condition.

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

Have you spoken to your local council? They may get one of their tree people out to advise you on what could be done without breaching the protection order.

[Cathpot]

Thanks both- I will take a picture tomorrow. It is right next to the well- might be the reason it's grown so big!

[Cathpot]

This is a view down the well - the roots have broken through at various levels and some of the are 30cm across

[Cathpot]

This is the canopy- it looks healthy and only the very top moves in the wind

[Cathpot]

DH has been on gardeners world forum- not his natural habit - and they are saying it will have lots of other roots and to cut them when it's dormant. Chatting tonight he is thinking do it over a couple of years.

Bumping for thoughts?

[shovetheholly]

I am no tree expert, but that is a stunning pine! It must have roots all over, and I wouldn't have thought it would cause too much damage to remove the few that are in your well. However, like I said, this is not my area so I could be totally wrong.

When I was relandscaping my garden, I had to cut through some tree roots from a large apple tree in my garden. I was a bit worried it would hurt the tree, but it was fine! However, pine may work differently!

[Cathpot]

Thanks- we are very fond of it! I am hoping that it's root system is big enough to cope but trying to check in case someone pops up and says Monterey pine??? NEVER CUT THE ROOTS or similar,

[shovetheholly]

I am sure I have seen bonsai specimens, so they can take cutting! (I'm joking - I think it's probably very different with an established tree, though). Don't they root down really, really deep to get water? If that's the case, I bet it has loads of those vertical roots. I suspect those ones in the picture are smaller and fairly peripheral for such a big tree.

I am intrigued about the idea of getting water from a well! I'm quite in love with the whole idea. At first I was having a bit of panicky thinking about the quality - but then it's not as though the stuff coming out of the tap is pure, is it? do you have it pumped up to the house?

[Cathpot]

The pump is in the well itself then it goes to a filtering room in an old shed and kit in there takes out heavy metals, general bits, balances the ph and then a uv filter kills the bugs. The company that installed it test the water first and then fit what you need . There is an aerator as well so it comes out bubbly! I was a bit dubious and DH pushed it through really- but I'm chuffed now - it tastes much nicer than our mains did and so far seems to be coping with the needs of the house and the garden . Our water bills on a meter were really high and we don't intend to move again so we should get the money back quite quickly.

[shovetheholly]

Amazing, so you filter it all yourselves? How lovely. It sounds like you have the champagne of waters! It must be wonderful to see your water bill fall through the floor as well.

[IDismyname]

I think you should consult a tree surgeon or an arboriculturalist (?) about this. Its too big a risk to start chopping off roots to any large tree.

If you do, and the tree keels over into another garden, then I think you should cover yourselves in terms of liability.

I'm not sure a MN forum is the place to be getting advice like this...