Stumped by Tree Troubles? We're Here for You! - Get Your FREE Estimates!
Stumped by Tree Troubles? We're Here for You! - Get Your FREE Estimates!
By
Big Easy Tree Removal 
Mar 6, 2026 
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A tree’s root system is typically far wider than its canopy and much shallower than people expect, often spreading two to three times the branch width while staying largely within the top few feet of soil. In New Orleans, a high water table and dense clay push roots shallower and wider still, which is why root conflict with raised foundations, brick walkways, and older sewer laterals is so common here. Big Easy Tree Removal helps New Orleans property owners assess root problems before they become structural ones.
Table of Contents
Ask most people to draw a tree’s roots and they will sketch a mirror image of the branches, plunging deep into the ground in a neat cone. It is a tidy picture and it is wrong nearly everywhere, but it is particularly wrong in New Orleans. Here the root system of a mature live oak is closer to a wide, flat plate than a cone, spreading well past the branch tips while staying in the upper layer of soil. That geometry explains most of what homeowners in this city experience with roots, from lifted sidewalks to slow drains, and understanding it changes how you handle both. This guide covers what is actually happening underground, drawing on the work Big Easy Tree Removal does on local properties.
A mature tree’s root system commonly spreads two to three times the width of its canopy, while the great majority of the roots sit within the top one to three feet of soil. The system is wide and flat rather than deep and narrow.
Put that in real terms. A live oak with a sixty foot canopy spread may have roots extending well over a hundred feet across. Those roots do not stop politely at the property line, the driveway, or the sidewalk. They go where soil, water, and oxygen are available, which in an urban setting means under lawns, under paving, and into neighboring yards.
Depth is the part that surprises people most. The image of roots reaching far down comes from a small number of species in deep, well-drained soil, and even those develop most of their absorbing capacity near the surface. Roots need oxygen as much as water, and oxygen is concentrated in the upper soil layers.
There is a functional split worth knowing. Structural roots near the trunk are large and woody and hold the tree up. Absorbing roots are fine, dense, and spread out across the wide flat area, and they do essentially all the water and nutrient uptake. Damage to each type causes a different problem: cutting structural roots threatens stability, while destroying absorbing roots starves the tree.
The idea that roots mirror the crown persists because it feels balanced and because it is easy to draw. It causes real damage in practice.
Homeowners who believe it assume that work outside the dripline is safe. In reality, a trench cut fifteen feet beyond the branch tips can sever a large share of a tree’s absorbing roots. The tree looks untouched afterward, which is exactly why the connection gets missed when it declines two seasons later.
The myth also drives the belief that roots are far enough down to avoid pipes and footings. Shallow roots and shallow infrastructure occupy the same layer of soil, and in older New Orleans neighborhoods both are unusually close to the surface. They meet more often than not.
A more useful mental model is a dinner plate rather than a tree in a mirror. Wide, relatively thin, centered on the trunk, and extending well past what you can see overhead.
Three local conditions push root systems here toward the extreme shallow-and-wide end of the range.
The result is a root system with a large footprint and limited depth, which has two consequences. It brings roots into contact with more infrastructure than a deeper system would. And it means anchorage depends on a broad shallow plate rather than a deep anchor, which is why saturated soil ahead of a storm is such a significant factor in whether trees stay upright.
New Orleans sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b on the 2023 map, so root growth continues through most of the year rather than stopping for a long dormant season. Root systems here develop and repair faster than in colder regions, which cuts both ways: recovery from damage can be good, and encroachment on structures happens sooner.
| What gets affected | How roots cause it | Typical warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Sidewalks and brick walkways | Roots thicken under paving and lift it | Raised, uneven slabs or displaced bricks |
| Older sewer laterals | Fine roots enter existing cracks and joints, then expand | Recurring slow drains or backups |
| Raised pier foundations | Roots grow against and around piers, and soil moisture shifts | Uneven floors or sticking doors near one side |
| Driveways and slabs | Lifting from below as roots expand in diameter | Cracking radiating from one edge |
| Fences | Roots displace posts over time | Leaning or lifted sections near a trunk |
One important correction to a common belief: roots very rarely break into a sound, well-sealed pipe. They exploit cracks and failed joints that already exist. In older neighborhoods with original clay laterals, those flaws are common, and the roots find them reliably. The root is usually the symptom finder rather than the original cause, though it certainly makes the problem worse once inside.
Sometimes, but not without assessment. Cutting large roots near the trunk can compromise both stability and health, and the closer to the trunk the cut, the greater the risk.
A rough rule is that risk rises sharply as you approach the trunk, and cutting several large roots on one side creates a directional weakness that matters in high wind. On a shallow-rooted tree in saturated New Orleans soil, that weakness is not theoretical. Where paving must be fixed, alternatives such as rerouting the walkway, using flexible paving, or bridging over the root often solve it without cutting anything significant.
Farther than most people plan for. Roots routinely extend well beyond the canopy, so a tree thirty feet from a house very often has roots under it.
Roots under a structure are not automatically a problem. The concern is specific: roots pressing against piers, roots entering a compromised lateral, and roots changing soil moisture near a foundation. Presence alone is not damage, and pre-emptively removing a tree because roots must be somewhere underneath is usually an overreaction.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 688 gives a landowner the right to demand that encroaching branches or roots be trimmed at the neighbor’s expense, but only where they actually interfere with the enjoyment of the property.
Louisiana is a civil law state, so its rule differs from the self-help approach commonly described in articles written for other states. The interference condition matters: roots merely crossing a line without causing a problem generally do not trigger the right. Because outcomes turn on specific facts and on the condition of the tree, confirm how this applies to your situation with a Louisiana attorney rather than acting on a general description.
Where roots genuinely conflict with something that cannot move, the choice is between managed root pruning with stability in mind and removal. Both are decisions worth making with information. A tree that is structurally sound and correctable is worth keeping, and tree preservation work is often the cheaper path over a decade.
Big Easy Tree Removal is locally owned and operated and works with root systems as they actually develop in New Orleans clay and groundwater. Most root problems here have more than one solution, and cutting the tree down is rarely the first one worth considering.
We serve New Orleans, Metairie, Gretna, Kenner, Harahan, River Ridge, Slidell, Mandeville, and throughout Louisiana.
Call 504-732-1166 to have a root problem looked at before it becomes a structural one.
Commonly two to three times the width of the canopy. Roots extend well past the branch tips rather than stopping at the dripline.
Most roots stay within the top one to three feet. A high water table and dense clay make deeper rooting difficult because saturated soil holds little oxygen.
Roots rarely break sound pipe. They enter existing cracks and failed joints, which are common in older clay laterals, and then expand inside.
Not without assessment. Cutting large roots near the trunk can reduce stability, which matters in saturated soil during storm season.
Louisiana Civil Code Article 688 allows demanding that encroaching roots or branches be trimmed at the neighbor’s expense, but only where they interfere with enjoyment of your property. Confirm specifics with a Louisiana attorney.
Usually not. Roots being present is not the same as roots causing damage, and many conflicts can be managed without removal.
The size of a tree’s root system is largely determined by its environment and the species of tree. Generally, most trees have tap roots, which are the main lateral roots that dive deep into the soil and absorb nutrients and water from far below the surface. The size and shape of these tap roots can depend on the soil type, climate, moisture levels, competition for resources, and the amount of minerals in the soil. Additionally, different species of trees have evolved to develop unique strategies for acquiring resources depending on their environment. For example, some species may have longer or higher-density roots to allow them to reach resources deeper or further away from the tree, while other species may rely on numerous smaller feeder roots to take up nutrients and water closer to the surface.
Tree roots typically need to reach at least one and a half times the depth of the tree’s canopy in order to provide adequate water and nutrients. This means that, depending on the species, trees can have roots that extend quite deep, ranging from several feet below ground to depths of more than twenty feet underground. The most important thing for a healthy tree is for its root system to spread out as widely as possible; deep-reaching roots help increase stability and access to moisture. Therefore, when planting a tree, it is important to dig a wide hole and place the tree in it so that the roots are able to expand outwards in all directions. Taking care of existing trees may also involve properly aerating the soil surrounding it so that water can penetrate deeper below ground.
The answer to the question of whether tree roots are typically larger than the visible tree trunk is a resounding yes. The root system of most trees extends far below the ground to depths ranging from three to six feet in some cases and up to ten or even twenty feet in others. Because these are all horizontally-growing roots, it is easy for them to take up significantly more space than the vertical trunk above ground. Some species even have lateral roots that spread outwards at greater distances from the trunk potentially making them much larger compared to the size of the tree itself. Furthermore, in many instances, roots can grow thicker than what can be seen above ground, as they can easily develop thicker diameters when underground. All together, this means that tree roots are almost always larger than what can be seen of the tree’s trunk.
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