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 
Apr 7, 2026 
0 Comments Summary
Tree roots absorb water and dissolved nutrients through fine root hairs, anchor the tree, and store energy, and they need oxygen from soil air to do any of it. That last requirement is what makes New Orleans difficult. Saturated clay soil holds almost no oxygen, so roots sitting in waterlogged ground suffocate even while surrounded by water. Big Easy Tree Removal helps New Orleans property owners recognize drowning root systems before the damage reaches the canopy.
Table of Contents
There is a peculiar thing that happens to trees in New Orleans after a long wet stretch: they show every symptom of drought. Wilting, scorched leaf margins, thinning canopy, all of it, in soil you could squeeze water out of. It looks like a contradiction and it is not one. Roots cannot take up water without oxygen, and saturated ground has none to give. Understanding how roots actually function explains that paradox and a good deal else about why trees here behave the way they do. This guide covers the mechanics, from the perspective Big Easy Tree Removal brings to local properties.
Roots absorb water and dissolved minerals, anchor the tree against wind, store carbohydrates for later growth, and exchange gases with the soil. Different parts of the system specialize in different jobs.
The division of labor matters, because damage to one part produces different symptoms than damage to another.
The absorbing roots are the surprise for most people. They are not permanent. Fine roots grow, function, die, and are replaced continuously, and a tree invests substantial energy in maintaining them. That turnover is why root systems can recover from damage, and also why a stressed tree that cannot afford the investment declines quickly.
This is the single most important thing to understand about roots in New Orleans, and it is the part that generic tree care advice glosses over.
Roots respire. They consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide, exactly as leaves do in the dark, and they get that oxygen from air held in soil pore spaces. Healthy soil is roughly half solid material and half pore space, with that pore space shared between air and water.
When soil floods, water fills the pores and drives the air out. The roots keep respiring, consume the small amount of dissolved oxygen available, and then begin to suffocate. Fine absorbing roots die first because they are the most metabolically active. Within days of sustained saturation, a tree can lose a meaningful share of its absorbing capacity.
Then comes the counterintuitive part. With absorbing roots dead or dying, the tree cannot take up water even though water is everywhere. The canopy transpires, nothing replaces the loss, and the leaves show drought symptoms. Homeowners frequently respond by watering more, which deepens the problem.
Clay compounds all of this. Its pore spaces are small and hold water tightly, so it drains slowly and stays saturated far longer than sandy soil after the same rainfall. Add a high water table beneath, and the window between too wet and adequately drained can be narrow across much of the New Orleans area.
Water enters through fine roots and root hairs, drawn in largely by differences in concentration between soil water and root tissue. From there it moves into the transport roots, up through the trunk in the outer wood, and out to the leaves.
What pulls it up is evaporation at the leaves. As water vapor exits through leaf pores, it creates tension in the continuous water columns running through the tree, and that tension draws more water up from the roots. The tree does not pump. It is more accurate to say the atmosphere pulls, and the roots supply.
This explains why hot, dry, windy conditions stress trees so quickly. Demand at the canopy rises sharply while supply at the roots stays fixed by what the soil and the root system can deliver. A tree with a compromised root system meets ordinary summer demand poorly, which is why root damage so often first shows up as heat stress in the canopy.
Nutrients ride along with the water, dissolved in it. This is why nutrient deficiency symptoms often appear in trees whose real problem is a root or drainage issue rather than a lack of nutrients in the soil. The nutrients are present. The delivery system is broken, and adding more fertilizer does not repair it.
Because saturated soil has no oxygen, and roots that cannot breathe cannot absorb water. The tree shows drought symptoms while standing in water.
The correct response is to improve drainage rather than to add water. Check whether downspouts, grading, or compaction are directing or holding water at the root zone, and address that. Watering a tree in saturated soil makes the situation worse.
A small fraction by weight, but nearly all of the function. Fine absorbing roots make up a modest share of root mass while doing essentially all the uptake.
This is why damage that looks minor can matter so much. A trench that severs no large roots may still destroy a large share of the fine root mass in that area. The tree looks structurally untouched and functionally is not.
Largely yes. New Orleans sits in USDA hardiness zone 9b on the 2023 map, so soil rarely gets cold enough to shut root activity down for long.
That works in your favor for recovery, since a damaged root system has most of the year to rebuild. It also means root problems progress year round rather than pausing over winter, so a drainage issue does not get a dormant season off.
Timing is again the useful clue. Symptoms that appear or worsen after a prolonged wet stretch, or that began after a grade change, a new driveway, or a drainage alteration, point to the root zone rather than to a pest or disease in the canopy.
The order of operations matters here, and most people start in the wrong place.
Fix drainage first. If water stands over the root zone, nothing else will work until that changes. Redirect downspouts, correct grading that channels water toward the tree, and address low spots that hold water. This is the intervention with the highest return and it is often the cheapest.
Relieve compaction second. Compacted soil has few pore spaces, so it holds little air even when not saturated. Keeping vehicles and equipment off the root zone prevents further compaction, and existing compaction can sometimes be improved.
Mulch third, correctly. Two to three inches of mulch over the root zone moderates soil moisture and temperature and adds organic matter as it breaks down. Keep it off the trunk.
Fertilize last, and only with reason. Adding nutrients to a root system that cannot take them up accomplishes nothing. Where a soil test identifies a genuine deficiency and drainage has been addressed, fertilization has a place in a recovery plan.
Where a root system has been badly reduced, bringing the canopy into balance with it can help. Careful crown reduction lowers water demand while roots rebuild, and for a valuable mature tree that combination is often what a tree preservation plan is built around.
Big Easy Tree Removal is locally owned and operated, and a large share of the declining trees we see in the New Orleans area have healthy canopies attached to root systems in trouble. Diagnosing what is happening below ground is usually what determines whether a tree can be saved.
We serve New Orleans, Slidell, Mandeville, Covington, Metairie, Kenner, Gretna, Hammond, and throughout Louisiana.
Call 504-732-1166 if a tree is declining and watering has not helped.
Through fine absorbing roots and root hairs near the soil surface. Evaporation from the leaves creates tension that draws water up through the tree.
Roots respire like any living tissue, taking oxygen from air held in soil pore spaces. Without it they cannot function or absorb water.
Yes. Saturated clay drives air out of the soil, and fine roots suffocate within days of sustained flooding, even though water surrounds them.
Because dead or damaged absorbing roots cannot take up water. The canopy shows drought symptoms while the soil stays saturated.
No. Adding water makes it worse. Improve drainage and stop water from collecting over the root zone.
Largely yes. New Orleans is in USDA zone 9b, so soil rarely stays cold enough to halt root activity for long.
Trees use an extensive network of roots to absorb nutrients from the soil. The root system consists of two main components; the primary fibrous root system, and the lateral adventitious root system. The primary fibrous root system serves as the foundation for a tree’s growth and absorption of nutrients, while the secondary lateral root system aids in providing stability and anchoring the tree’s roots to the soil.
The tips of these roots contain specialized cells, called root hairs, which are responsible for increasing a root’s surface area and absorbing water-soluble minerals such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from the soil. Roots also absorb other non-mineral macronutrients that trees need to survive such as carbon and oxygen. By branching out horizontally or vertically, these root systems can reach deeper in the soil layers where more nutrients may be found. Each root has tiny openings that allow it to take up water and essential nutrients, while keeping out larger particles like sand and clay.
Additionally, trees are able to manipulate chemical compounds present in their environment in order to promote nutrient absorption from their spatial surroundings. For example, some trees have developed a symbiotic relationship with fungi known as mycorrhizae which produces compounds that aid in nutrient absorption. Others create organic matter deposits which are rich in decomposed leaf material full of important micronutrients like zinc, copper and iron which are then utilized by plants for photosynthesis.
The root system of a tree plays an essential role in allowing it to obtain water and nutrients. The roots are designed to absorb and transfer both water and nutrients up the tree into its leaves, branches and stem where they can be used for growth and survival. Tree roots not only penetrate deep into the ground where they can gain access to more resources, but they also spread out horizontally near the surface to capture any incoming rainfall or melted snow. In addition, because a tree’s roots remain largely hidden beneath the surface of the ground, they are also less vulnerable to various environmental factors such as extreme temperatures ordisease affecting the soil environment. This combination of depth and breadth makes them highly effective at obtaining their required resources for sustaining life and promoting healthy growth.
The growth of tree roots is largely determined by environmental factors such as soil type, soil moisture, temperature, and light.
Soil type can play a major role in how much and in what direction tree roots grow. Different types of soil contain different amount of nutrients and minerals that plants need to survive. Fine-textured soils, for example, are better for root growth than coarse-textured soils because they retain more moisture and require less energy to penetrate. In addition to texture, soil pH levels can also influence the direction of root growth since some roots prefer acidic or alkaline soils.
Soil moisture levels greatly impact the rate of root growth. If the soil becomes too dry, roots will be unable to take up water and nutrients from it, which may lead to them becoming stunted or even dying off. On the other hand, waterlogged soils can prevent air from reaching the tree’s roots leading to oxygen deprivation, which may stunt or kill them as well.
Temperature has an effect on root growth as well. Generally speaking, warmer temperatures promote longer root development while cooler temperature tend to produce shorter more compact roots. Tree species located in higher latitudes with colder climates typically have deeper and wider spreading roots in order to absorb enough heat and nutrients during the short growing season.
Light also affects how much a tree’s roots grow because trees need light in order to photosynthesize food. Trees that are grown in shaded environments often have shallower root systems compared to those grown in more open areas where they can access more direct sunlight.
Overall, tree root growth is heavily influenced by environmental factors such as soil type, moisture levels, temperature and light, so it is important for gardeners and farmers to pay attention to these details when planting trees in order to get the best results possible.
We’re grateful for all feedback. Here is what our Big Easy Tree Removal customers are saying:
