I have a live oak in the front yard that is huge. The roots had pretty well surfaced everywhere, which so be it.

My question is the roots in the flowerbed, near the slab. Can I cut those out of the flowerbed area without damage to the tree??

This portion of the roots is at least 25 feet away from the trunk. Please my pics….i put my size 12 shoe next to the roots in question to show how big they are.

I read something online that it's ok to cut any roots that are located further than 5x the diameter of the tree. But not sure if that holds a lot of weight or not.

(I'm trying to plant a new hedge in this spot)

https://imgur.com/a/6RNGKzc

Neil Sperry just addressed this on radio recently, all of which seems to say you are tuned into his guru advice = green light. He has added in some cases installing a deep metal/equal barrier to these cut roots & others approaching your house that close in future.

If I may chime in as an Architect that counsels DIY foundation repairs in Aggieland (if they are too poor or refuse to go to Anchor) .... I say, may God speed to diverting those torpedoes (roots) from blasting up your slab-on-grade ship! You caught that little beggar in time.

Well, looking at the pic (with my shoe), it appears that root already made it to the slab. Not sure if it's causing an issue or not with the slab.

But are you saying if I cut that section of root out, I should be ok as far as the tree won't be compromised or die?

Ok, thank you both

BucketofBalls99 said:

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Well, looking at the pic (with my shoe), it appears that root already made it to the slab. Not sure if it's causing an issue or not with the slab.

But are you saying if I cut that section of root out, I should be ok as far as the tree won't be compromised or die?

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The root split from one into two looks like it's coming out of the slab. Never seen two smaller roots that have combine into a larger one. Is there a different tree that could have sent a single root under the slab and then it split? That root you pictured may not be to the tree pictured unless it went under your slab in a different spot and then did a u turn, came back out and then split into two . ?????

I was wondering that as well. did two roots come together going towards the slab? Or is it a root coming out of the slab splitting?