if you cut a tree's root, will a branch break off?

I was digging in my backyard tonight, changing out some sandy, rocky dirt for compost, and I came across a thick root near my plants. There are lemon trees in my backyard, but their roots don't extend as far as this root did, I think. It must have been a root from one of the very tall trees, mostly oaks, in the adjacent yards. They have roots that even grow under my house.

I hacked at the root with my shovel and then I pulled up a big hunk out of the dirt. I heard a big branch or a limb of a tree break near the front of the house. Then I found another big root near my plants and pulled that one up too, and again heard a big branch or a limb break off a tree from somewhere in the front of the house, maybe in the neighbor's yard.

If I cut a big old root, will a tree compensate with one of its branches? Now that I've written it out, it seems ludicrous.

you're just yanking out the tree at the other end, like if you yank on a computer cord and send the computer crashing down

http://i56.tinypic.com/2ufdonb.gif

I cut off my foot once and my ear broke off. Maybe this is the same principle?

I chewed on a thumbnail and got a foot cramp.

didn't Roald Dahl write a story about this?

do you pronounce it root with a long "ooh" sound or so it rhymes with "put"?

how do you pronounce "put"?

poot

me too

Now that I've written it out, it seems ludicrous.

So the answer to the original question obv is definitely not. Even if there was a connection it would be over time - roots supply oxygen + nutrients to the entire tree and branches not receiving adequate nutrients will fall off. However:

Roots normally grow outward to about three times the branch spread. Only 50 percent of the trees root system occurs between the trunk and the dripline. Roots on one side of the tree normally supply the foliage on the same side of the tree. When the roots on one side of the tree are injured the branches on that side of the tree may die back or drop. With some trees, such as maple, the effect may develop anywhere in the tree canopy.

Roots supply the same side of the tree. So even though there is an association between roots + branches, it's only on the same side. Your tree's branches kept falling off on the other side of the house, and presumably have no connection to those particular roots. And even if they were on the same side, death by lack of nutrients takes a little longer than a few seconds.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/text/tree_anatomy.html

This question is awesome. For some reason it makes me think of the Old Days on ILX.

Clearly not a case of nutrient deficiency, but I really don't think that you can rule out an act of self-defence on the part of the tree.

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/279/treesandroots.gif

LOL

oak trees grow very very thick lateral roots that only serve to anchor the tree and support smaller roots which do all the work of absorbing nutrients/water - if the root you hit was one of these (sounds like it was from your descrip/picture), if you hit it hard enough, and if the tree is old enough and the soil loose enough it's possible that you momentarily disturbed the stability of the tree and the branch fell off as a result

it's probably just a coincidence, though

also are you certain they are lemon trees? citrus tees have notably shallow and small root systems, so you're probably right that it's not a lemon tree root

if lemons grow on them, but they aren't lemon trees, then what would they be?

my hometown newspaper has an "ask a scientist" column every week where like a seven year old asks a question and some university professor answers it. that's what this reminded me of

except that instead of the university professor answering it's just a seven year old asking a question to his seven year old friends all dressed up in oversized professor outfits and gesticulating wildly into the air

basically haha

They are sweet lemons, some South American variety.

1:420 scale

This question is awesome. For some reason it makes me think of the Old Days on ILX.

Haha I miss threads like "I DROPPED MY BOOK IN THE BATH AND IT WENT FAT!!"

(a phrase I think of every time i read in the bath i might add)

if lemons grow on them, but they aren't lemon trees, then what would they be?

― sarahel, Tuesday, February 22, 2011 5:55 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

uh they might not be fruiting iirc?!