Eagleston Hollies Near Pool

[jsrachels]

We just planted 10 Eagleston Hollies around our pool (at great expense). They are about 10 foot tall and about 3 feet from our coping. These holly tree have become very popular in recent years (in TX at least) and are planted very close to pools all the time, but I don't know of many people that have MATURE holly trees next to their pools.

My dad just called and told me he spoke to a arborist wh said we had maybe 5 year before the root system could damage our pool.

Does anyone have Eagleston hollies close to their pool and have they had any issues?

Does any one have any knowledge of the root system that they can share?

 

[BigPapaSmurf]

Per google;
The root system is a taproot. This means holly trees have one large root that grows straight down and then smaller, less hearty roots that spread out. The horizontal roots are responsible for gathering the majority of the nutrients needed to flourish. This type of root system can be invasive.

 

[jark87]

While we don’t have Hollies, our pool is surrounded by trees, most of which were there when we built the house 25 years ago. We have a red oak at 1 end of the pool that was planted a few years before it was built. I did some research when we were in the pool planning phase, and from what I recall, learned that while all tree root systems are invasive, they usually reroute around large obstacles like a pool or house foundation. Plumbing is probably the greatest risk, we haven’t had any issues in 15 years.

 

[trivetman]

I would trust what an arborist is saying as opposed to any internet research you’re going to do. The basic idea of large rooted structures 3 feet from my pool would make me nervous.

That being said, you’ve already got them in so do some real research before making any moves. I would call a couple more arborists and see if they all tell you the same story.

 

[Toxophilite]

Too close! They are wonderful trees, and around here folks are liking them better than the typical Savannah Holly, but these ornamental trees eventually become full blown trees in not too many years.

I had planted some ornamental Japanese Blueberry trees in my flower beds around house because they are the go to "ornamental" tree for this area. They were there not long in years when we had that big freeze that killed them all. Lucky for me, because when I dug them out, the roots were already headed for the house slab and were way beyond what I expected in size from such small trees, which one day would have been big trees.