Question
Hi,  I am planting a Royal Empress Tree in my front yard.  The tree will be 9.5 feet from the street and 9 feet from the sidewalk leading up to our front door.  Is that enough room for the tree roots of the tree so that they will not cause any damage to the street or our sidewalk?  

Vida

Answer
Yes it should be OK as far as the roots go. You may as years go by need to prune the lower limbs as they will at maturity reach out about 10-20 feet from the trunk.

The roots will be about 1 1/2 times the width of the foliage.  This tree has a width of about 30 feet when mature which would mean 15 feet on a side. They also have a root structure that tends to extend downward, making them less of a potential problem in terms of disrupting underground piping or foundations. Their oversized leaves provide a great deal of shade.