I'm planning a deck around an established monkey pod tree. I live in Hawaii. The plan is to leave open a hole around the tree. The deck will be above ground level, wood with footings. However, the deck surface will be slate rock so there will be no water seepage between the 2x6 lumber. Further I plan to limit the amount of footings by using lam beams. Since the root system will now be covered to a large extent by the deck, what does the tree require to get enough water? Should I install a drain for the deck surface that collects and diverts any surface water to the base of the trunk?
