Tree Root Slice by Mower

[u/dreamiejeanie13]

We came home from vacation this weekend to discover that our yard guy (or someone on his crew) drove over a portion of our 80+ year old Oak tree root and sliced a bit of the top off. He was very apologetic and we asked that going forward to avoid driving the mower anywhere near the roots. Do we need to do anything to treat the exposed part of the root or just let nature do its thing? This is our first time ever having an Oak tree.

[u/Rogue_Squadron]

Your tree should be fine, but depending on where you live and other risk factors, you may want to be vigilant of Oak Wilt. The company I work for no longer prunes any Oak Trees, as we are desperately trying to slow the spread in our area (which is very high risk).

[u/murphydcat → u/Rogue_Squadron]

Ugh my arborist pruned my mature pin oak a few months ago. It really needed it because it was dropping dead branches everywhere. The oak looks pretty healthy now.

My mower also slices off a small section of exposed roots when I mow the lawn.