Is it true that the roots of a blue spruce are shallow and wide spread? Also if a side walk is installed three feet from the trunk of the tree will the concrete kill the tree over the course of a couple of years? Thank you
Spruce roots are relatively shallow, but won't lift sidewalks if that is a concern. I've seen many many blue spruce planted by sidewalks and it doesn't seem to bother them.
Thank you for the response. Good to know the roots won't lift the new sidewalk. I'm sorry to say that we may need to cut some of the roots to lay the sidewalk and I hope that doesn't kill the tree.
If this is a big specimen where you will be sawing through large roots to set the walk you could in fact foul things up by doing so. If nothing else you might cause the tree to topple later, due to part of its anchorage being removed. The only sure way of not spoiling a tree with cuts or fills in its root zone is to not do them. No other assurances can be provided.
I thought you were planting a new spruce tree beside a side walk, not building a sidewalk over an existing tree. Probably won't hurt it if it is relatively small, but if it is big there is some risk as has been suggested. It should be mentioned that 3 feet from a sidewalk is way too close for a blue spruce tree. The branches grow out laterally for many feet, and you will have to unnaturally prune the tree to use the side walk which will hurt the appearance of the tree. It should be sited at least 10 feet away unless you want to maintain a clean trunk up to 7 feet so you can walk under it.
