Plant ideas for area near septic tank

[purrbox]

Are there any plants that can be planted near a septic tank (I'm talking, like, a few feet away from the tank)? I was thinking pretty much anything that's not a tree, shrub, or bush would be okay, but I don't want to risk causing any root damage to the septic tank. Thanks!

[nomad100]

Most of the houses in our hood have septic tanks and many, including ours, have grass over them. My parents have some sort of ivy ground cover over theirs.

[purrbox]

Thanks, nomad. Grass is already growing over the septic tank. I was just hoping I could plant some flowers or something nearby. Things look so bare over on that side of the house.

[nomad100]

Anything with shallow roots should be fine. Especially if it is by the tank and not the drain field.

We have hostas, butterfly bush, vaious bulbs (like tulips and lilies) near the tanks themselves but we leave the drainfield area just grass.

[purrbox]

Thanks, nomad. I guess I need to figure out where the drain field is.

[treedimensional]

Even on very large trees, most roots are in the top 18" of soil.

[purrbox]

May 17, 2013 16:00:45 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

Even on very large trees, most roots are in the top 18" of soil.

This is good to know. I really want to plant some trees on the side of the yard with the septic tank, but definitely don't want to plant too close. I'm paranoid about roots messing up the septic tank! I guess I need to pay someone to come out and tell me exactly where the tank and drain areas are because I only have a vague idea.

[treedimensional]

A lot of people think that roots break open underground pipes to get at the moisture inside, but that doesn't happen. Roots move toward moisture, not pipes. When roots clog underground pipes, it's usually because there was a leak of some sort already, and the roots just exploited what they encountered.
Most of these systems are deeper than 3', and absorbing roots would NEVER be that deep if there wasn't an artificial water source causing them to grow there. Absorbing roots are normally very close to the surface, because that it where rain comes from, and that is normally the ONLY water source.

If the building code allows you to plant trees and shrubs directly in your septic field, I'd suggest fast-growing, short-lived species, of which there are many (think small, flowering ornamental fruit trees) cheap and widely available options.

[purrbox]

Thanks treedimensiona! I'll have to look into whether or not code allows me to plant in the septic field. If so, I'm really interested in planting the trees you suggested. Thanks for the recommendation!