Hey all 👋
Got a question re an apple tree that's stumping me – root flare is buried, I've dug down a bit less than a foot, still no root flare.
My understanding is apples are even more important to get the root flare out because the root stock will be a different graft to the fruit stock
But, it's getting wobbly, and I don't know how much further there is to go. It is in an ornamental rock circle thing, so I suspect once upon a time the apple was at floor level, and then someone built the rock ornament and filled in around the apple tree.
If that's the case, I've got at least another half foot to go.
Not sure whether to keep going an undetermined depth until I find the root flare + possibly stake it, leave as is + stake it, or admit defeat and bury it back to where it was
Any thoughts?
by Jwayne6909
6 Comments
KEEP GOING. 100%
Personally I would just disassemble the whole rock wall thing.
But also, in my opinion, a tree as small as this might survive the improper soil over fill. I’ve seen young apple trees sprout roots from the trunk when people have left the trunk wrapped in the big plastic label the big box stores sell them with. So there is a chance that that buried trunk can root, but I wouldn’t call it a good chance. Others can chime in if I’m totally wrong
Id just entirely remove the rock wall and the soil inside it
Oooh, that’s deep. Please keep going.
I’m not an arborist, just a lurker. I thought I’d offer a theory about what happened because a similar thing is happening with my apple trees.
Build a nice raised bed. Plant stuff, including apple tree. Soil settles, add more soil/compost. Repeat for several years. Either you end up with the root flare buried or the tree in a pit. (Mine are in a pit.)
Aha seems everyones in agreement so not going to reply 1 by 1 😅
I’ll keep going, see if the owner is happy with the rock wall being removed (I expect not) and have a think on different options that leaves the root flare exposed 👍
Thank you all, this is what I thought but was getting nervous at the depth