Cedar Hedge (Emerald) roots?

I want to put in a cedar hedge between my driveway and my neighbors.... he's concerned that the roots will damage his driveway.

I've heard that they won't because it's a shrub and the roots are not strong enough to damage pavement or cement.

Hopefully someone here will have some experience with this here.

Thank you.....

Larger shrubs can be almost as destructive as certain trees.
What is the actual species of plant you want to use? Is it Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald'?

This one is probably not going to cause problems.

To keep the neighbor happy, though, you could put a root barrier on his side of the bed. This is a vertical sheet of very strong plastic that the roots cannot grow through. The simplest way is to dig a slightly larger hole for each plant, and put 1-2 sheets in each hole between the neighbor and the trunk of the plant.
The 'deluxe' version is to rent a trencher (or trench by hand, but my back aches just typing this) the full length of the driveway and line the whole thing with root barriers. This would be the way to go if you are planting the plants pretty close to each other.

Root barriers are usually sold in a set of 4 that interlock to form a box with no bottom. You can connect more than 4 sheets to make a larger diameter enclosure, or you can use the sheets connected, but not into a box, just all in one line.

Brilliant advice from Diana, I would go with the trenching method, your going to have to make a trench anyway to add humus and prep the soil for taking hedging plants anyway.
Remember a hedge is where plants grow in the same soil for many years so you would be well advised to do all the best prep you can before you put these lovely plants in situ. I use Horse manure well rotted for such trenches as it offers the best of everything a hedge could want to support it's growth for many years.
After the shrubs are in place for a couple of years you can always add humus as a mulch to suppress weeds, help hold onto moisture around the roots and it also helps feed the plants where they are in the same place for many years that's why it's best to do good prep work first.
The root barriers are just wonderful I don't think we have those here in UK so we are always tring to find other materials to use in place,
I will be picking Diana's brains for the makers name and if they are out-with USA.

Brilliant advice from Diana, I would go with the trenching method, your going to have to make a trench anyway to add humus and prep the soil for taking hedging plants anyway.
Remember a hedge is where plants grow in the same soil for many years so you would be well advised to do all the best prep you can before you put these lovely plants in situ. I use Horse manure well rotted for such trenches as it offers the best of everything a hedge could want to support it's growth for many years.
After the shrubs are in place for a couple of years you can always add humus as a mulch to suppress weeds, help hold onto moisture around the roots and it also helps feed the plants where they are in the same place for many years that's why it's best to do good prep work first.
The root barriers are just wonderful I don't think we have those here in UK so we are always tring to find other materials to use in place,
I will be picking Diana's brains for the makers name and if they are out-with USA.

Good luck and very best Regards,
WeeNel.

When you are researching root barriers, or finding ways to use other produces as root barriers ask yourself which way the root growth will be redirected.
A material that is smooth offers no direction at all.
A material that is horizontally grooved will direct the roots sideways, and the plants will compete with each other and will have shallow roots.
The best root barrier materials have vertical grooves that will encourage the roots to grow deeper. This makes the plant more drought tolerant, and keeps those roots from competing with their neighbors.

There are also rolled products for use as root barriers, often used in commercial settings. Think of a parking lot, with long thin beds between parking stalls, yet they plant large trees in there!

Here is the product I have used in residential settings. As I mentioned above, you do not have to make it up into a box shape. Just use as many panels as you need to protect the nearest concrete or other things.

http://www.ndspro.com/root-barrier/category-overview/root-barrier-root-control-and-damage-prevention

Diana, thank you so much for taking the time to give us all those hints and tips you do so well, and now for sending by return the info on the root barriers you spoke /sorry Wrote about for helping Brad re his hedging.
I will read word for word and get in touch with the company to find where the Products can be obtained or shipped to UK, hope they have a company here that maybe takes shipments from their company.

The only root trainers I can get here are for planting things like sweet-peas and pea as in Veg as you will know they have tong roots and they now do a pack where you can plant maybe 8 seeds into these LONG tapered root trainers as it has been suggested they don't like root disturbance when transplanting.
Well what's wrong with the old toilet tissue empty cardboard centres that we built fairy castles with as kids and then progressed onto planting seeds in them to feed the little people their greens LOL.
Anyway, again Thanks for you time and help Diana, much appreciated.
Best Regards. WeeNel..
WeeNel.

Thank you so much for the advice Diana K.... I picked up one two foot panel that I'll be able to show my neighbor this week... hopefully it'll ease their minds about their driveway. :)

... and yes the trees we want to use are Thuja Occidentalis Emerald.

Also... thank you WeeNel on the tips on prepping and planted, I'll take your advice as well.


Thank you again to both of you... I'll let you know how it goes with the neighbor!

Brad

It's the same old same old Brad, IF your neighbour dont understand gardening he wont want any kind of growing barrier between your property and their's, and unless a named plant / tree is banned, then there is not much they can do about your choice of plantings however, it is always nicer to consider the neighbours worries but, where the neighbours do have a say is, IF you plant something after knowing it can cause problems if neglected, roots head towards foundations, utilities, drains or blackout light if severe enough to be classed as concerns in those regards. I agree it is always good practice to inform the CLOSE neighbours but NOT if they are generally obstructive to change or just plane stupid.
Wishing you all the best for a happy planting situation and hope the greenery cheers up the outlook for all.
Best Reagards, WeeNel.

Agreed.
All the good that you are doing with researching the plants and techniques may be lost on a neighbor who is 'just plain stupid'.

However, be assured that you are doing your part by making sure you are planting on your side of the property line, and using root barriers.

I think the root barriers are probably not needed in this planting, but perhaps they are needed because of the neighbor.
Just to be sure, I think I would use some method of root barrier, so that if the neighbor's concrete did crack (and concrete will always crack) they cannot blame you.