Question
Hi Jim,

My husband and I live approximately 30 miles east of Sacramento, California and we have a liquid amber in our front yard approximately 25 feet from the house and 15 feet from the street.  The tree is approximately 18 years old and about 35-40 feet tall.  The trunk is not a singular trunk like most liquid ambers but branches off into two main trunks at about 3 feet off the ground.  Our main concern is that the root system is invading our lawn and cracking our cement lawn border and has cracked one of our sprinkler lines.  We were wondering if the tree needs to be removed (It's a wonderful shade tree and lovely to look at although it's spikey balls are annoying).  We are considering moving in a year or two and would like to fix this problem.  Is there another alternative other than removing the tree?  Can we cut the surface roots without causing damage to the tree or will they simply grow back?  Another thing we noticed was that beginning at about 10 feet up the trunk(s) in a horizontal linear fashion are tiny bore holes about 1/4" to 1/2" apart which continue up the trunks in no particular spacing but at least a foot apart.  Could this be from a woodpecker or is it from an insect?  Thank you for your time, I hope you can help.

Thanks,
Christina

Answer
This is one of the invasive type trees with roots that will cause problems with sidewalks, driveways, sewer pipes and other water pipes. It is not a good tree for a yard. I seldom recommend removing a tree but in your situation that would be best to replace it. The roots can be cut along the walk but it will be next to impossible to cut them along pipes. Cutting the roots can damage the foliage opf the tree depending on how close the roots are cut to the trunk. The fruit is also a big problem. The holes sound like woodpecker holes and will not harm the tree. I would lean toward removing the tree Sorry!