I have a beautiful spring snow crab apple tree. It is about 10 years old. Many of the roots are at the surface of the ground and are sprouting branches (if that is what you want to call them). They look bad and I would like to cover them with rock - as the rest of my landscaping is done this way. Will it hurt the tree? I continue to trim them currently, but the growth is getting to be many more and I hate to use the weed trimmer on them, as that would not be good for the roots.

Thank you for any help you can offer to me.

I don't think the rocks will hurt the tree. What would hurt the tree is trying to bury the roots with earth. There is a reason it is sending roots to the surface, probably trying to find more nourishment and a proper thing for the tree to do. However, suckers that come grow at the bottom of the tree must be cut off because they are taking needed nourishment from the tree itself.