Trees and other plants are so easily damaged by sinkholes that we can sometimes be completely unaware. Sinkholes are sneaky enough, but a lot of the time as the ground caves in below the surface, taking nutrients and soil your plants need, especially trees. Most of the time you are unaware of this damage until the tree either sinks right along with your sinkhole or just falls over dead.
Did you know that it can take up to 7 years for a tree to die once the roots of the plant are damaged depending on the species? Most trees show damaged within 2 to 3 years. Some sinkholes can take up to 20 years to manifest signs and by this point, its too late for your trees in that area. See, tree roots or a tree’s root zone, are usually in the first 12 inches of soil. Some people try to plant trees in these areas. Word of caution: do not waste your money planting trees in sinkholes! A big sinkhole myth people believe is that the sinkhole will stop sinking once it stops decaying. Well, common sense says yes that’s true that once there is nothing left to decay it will stop, but if it took 20 years to notice on the surface alone, it still has a long way to go to finish the decaying process and the damage to vegetation is already done. Just remember that the longer a sinkhole is ignored, the more destruction it causes. Don’t let your sinkhole kill your trees. It might be your house or neighbor’s home the tree falls on causing you time and money!
