by patti
(Fairhope al)
We love the look of all the Key West pools that are right outside a living room and off the porch. We have an opportunity to create this design,but are concerned about a live oak tree that hangs over this area. Would we regret this decision?
Live Oaks are beautiful trees with a graceful, swooping branching habit. I can understand you wanting to incorporate it into your pool design, but do think you would regret it for a few reasons. Excavating under this tree could be very harmful to it. The rule of thumb when excavating under a tree is to stay outside of the drip line of the outer most branches. Digging inside the drip line may damage more roots than the tree can tolerate severely damaging or killing it. Also, the leaf debris in the pool would be constant maintenance. In Virginia I have seen folks plant crape myrtle trees around a pool for the summer color. The least bit of wind blows the flowers in the pool creating a constant mess to clean. Be careful, it sounds manageable, but what I've seen and experienced is that this constant cleaning gets old fast.
I hope this information helps and you have a good alternative location for your pool.
Nancy