There are many trees and some of them have non-invasive roots while other trees have. You will like growing an orange tree because it will give you delicious oranges but are the roots of this tree safe for foundations?
Are Orange Tree Roots Invasive?
An orange tree doesn’t have invasive roots. The taproot is growing about 7 to 12 feet (2-3.6 m) deep and other roots will grow mostly on the 2-3 feet of the soil and grow around 20 to 40 feet (6-12 m) wide. The length of the orange tree roots will depend on the kind of trees you have.
Standard orange trees will have much longer roots than dwarf tree varieties. This is because most of the big size trees tend to have much bigger and longer roots than smaller trees.
Also, trees grown outdoors will have longer and deeper roots than potted trees. When you grow an orange tree outdoors it will have much space for its roots to spread. The roots will grow longer and they will find the nutrients and water that they need.
The kind of soil will also affect the length of the roots. When the soil is compact it makes the roots harder to spread than a not compacted and well-draining soil.
Potted orange trees cannot spread roots wide and deep because pots have small spacing. The roots of an orange tree will be shorter but it will not affect the tree much and it will still produce oranges when they mature.
How Do Orange Tree Roots Grow?
When an orange tree is grown from seed, the first root will appear when that seed germinates. A tiny root will grow out of the seed and a few tiny leaves will also come out.
During those early stages, the roots of an orange tree are just small and short. The roots eventually start increasing in length and the tree starts to grow taller and faster.
When it becomes a young tree it will have longer roots. The water helps the roots to grow longer. That is why during the early stage of tree growth, watering must be done more often to make the tree more established.
The taproot of the orange tree grows the deepest. It will go as deep as 12 feet especially when planted outdoors. Then those other roots will grow in the shallow areas.
How Deep Do Orange Tree Roots Grow?
The taproot of an orange tree grows as deep as 12 feet. Standard orange trees planted outdoors can make this happen. Standard orange trees are growing big and they have much bigger and longer size roots than other oranges.
Planting orange trees in the ground will give them the freedom to spread and go deep. But orange tree roots cannot go deep in the pot.
The roots of an orange tree just copy the shape of the container and will not go deep since the container is preventing it from growing longer and bigger.
The orange trees grow bigger as the year passes by. When the pot is too small for an orange tree it needs to be repotted to give it enough space to grow.
How Wide Do Orange Tree Roots Grow?
The roots of an orange tree will grow about 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) wide. Most of these roots are growing 2-3 feet while the taproot grows deep in the soil.
With enough spacing in the ground, the roots can grow wide. Mostly the length of the roots will base on the size of the canopy. But some roots will have the chance to grow longer.
Mature orange trees, especially standard trees will grow roots wider than when young orange trees. Even if the roots are not invasive there is still a chance for those roots to grow bigger and become invasive so it is better to grow them at a distance from the house or other structures.
Can Orange Tree Roots Damage Foundation?
Orange tree roots will not damage the foundation because they are not invasive. But even if the roots are not invasive you still need to grow them at a distance from foundations.
Grow orange trees about 12 to 15 feet from houses and other structures. In that way, when those trees become mature the roots will not reach structures and will prevent them from causing damage.
The orange tree roots are small when young but there are chances that they will grow bigger and become invasive. Aside from that, the branches of the tree will spread so with good spacing the branches will not reach structures.
But if you are just growing dwarf orange trees in a pot then it will not be a problem for you. Dwarf orange trees can be planted in pots and can be placed indoors.
With regular pruning, you can keep them small for a long time.
Orange Tree Root Rot
Orange trees can have a problem with their roots. Root rot can sometimes happen when too much water is given to the tree. Because of too much water the roots are getting damaged.
When orange tree roots are not functioning well, the tree cannot get enough water and nutrients. The roots cannot transport those water and nutrients since they are damaged.
So it is necessary to be careful not to overwater the orange tree. Checking the soil moisture will also help to know if the tree needs water or not. Young orange trees need water more often like watering every after a few days while mature orange trees can be watered once a week or every two weeks.
Aside from overwatering, too much rainfall can also cause root rot in an orange tree. There are times that heavy rainfall comes and it can make the orange tree get flooded. To prevent this to happen, creating waterways will help to prevent trees from getting too much water, especially in the areas where heavy rainfall comes more often.
Diseases can also cause root rot on orange trees so you need to analyze and you can use a fungicide to control those diseases affecting the orange tree growth.
