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In 2015 my neighbor planted a privacy screen using Ficus Nitida. When planted they ranged in size from 5-6' to probably 15'. The smallest ones are at least 20' high now.

I expressed my concerns about the possibility of invasive roots to the neighbor. He said his research, "confirmed by his landscaper", indicated that "root spreading is largely due to poor watering". He assured me that he was planning for this and that the trees would have plenty of irrigation.

So much for that theory. He recently sold and moved away and coincidentally I happened to be working on the part of my yard along the property line. Just in a roughly six foot length along the properly line I have cut and removed innumerable ficus roots (signature white sap) growing from his side into my yard ranging from 1/2" to 2", 3", and one ~4" monster. I also happened to be digging out the dirt from a planter along the property line perpendicular to his in order to plant some of my own trees and discovered a 1" root that went diagonally across the body of my backyard from the ficus neighbor's side, ducked under this planter wall and into it, then went along it nearly 20 feet before diving straight down at the end as it headed for my koi pond and spa. I can only imagine the damage this root would have caused if I hadn't found it.

Question: Is there anything I can do to kill the roots themselves where they are entering my yard and I've cut them off? I don't want to kill his trees, but just to kill the roots themselves so that rather than just starting new growth again from the root stump, the tree will actually have to grow an entirely new root from scratch if it wants to head into my yard again. For example, I'm envisioning drilling into the end of the the root stumps for the ones large enough to do so, and squirting some toxic chemical into the hole, then plugging the hole with say, epoxy of some sort.

Note - I am also planning on putting some rhizome barrier used to contain bamboo along the property line, but unfortunately I suspect the ficus roots are aggressive enough that they'll just grow under/around it.

So, any ideas on how to kill the existing roots or stop new ones?

Thanks!

Kevin
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    If the roots are in the upper 6-8 inches of the soil, and if aluminum flashing is available in your area, I recommend installing the flashing along your property border. If you want to do this, please let me know and I'll respond with a proper answer and include instructions on installing the flashing. – Jurp Dec 25 '21 at 14:43
  • Thanks, but no, they're mostly from a foot to 2-3 feet. Larger roots lower down. My rhizome barrier is 30" tall going from memory, but I'm going to check on getting some that's even taller if possible. – Kevin Dec 27 '21 at 01:07

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