Hi All,
I’ve seen over and over again that you need to expose the root flare on a Chinese pistache. We had a professional tree farm come out and install this tree two years ago and for the first time ever it is looking extremely healthy. However, I started digging around the base of the trunk because I couldn’t see any root flare and have noticed a few roots that are appearing they could be girdling the rest of the tree as they grow. My question is – is this tree too newly planted for me to be trying to expose root flare? I’ve attached a picture of the roots that I’m uncovering and they’re all pretty small but one or two thicker ones are wrapping over the smaller ones. Is this the right time to be exposing root flare? How much deeper am I likely to need to dig? I am about 3 inches below where the soil line had been and seeing no massive roots. This tree was relatively mature when they transplanted it two years ago – 5-10yrs old. I’m using a trowel to not do too much damage, so it is taking a while to dig the soil out.
Any thoughts welcome. I want to do right by the tree , but want to ensure my ignorance isn’t exposing small needed root systems that are needing to be in the ground for the tree to survive.
by Krailin7
4 Comments
New trees are the most susceptible to girdling roots from a buried root flare.
As you can see it’s started shooting off adventurous roots.
You should keep going, carefully, until you find the flare. Keep softening the soil with water. We have no idea how deep they buried your tree.
The tree will thank you.
No not too soon, looks good keep going. Be gentle with the trowel so as not to damage bark. But don’t fret if you accidentally scrape a few times. Doing it manually like that takes patience. Anything is better than nothing though. It was definitely buried too deep and yes not surprised to hear about the girdled roots. I would leave those alone for now and focus on what you’re doing currently.
I think I can see the very top of the root flare so it’s not too deep but it’s planted a bit deeper than I would’ve planted it in NC. Regardless, exposing the root flare will be a direct benefit to the tree as the root system is how trees exchange gases with the environment so having them less covered in compacted soil will always be more beneficial than having them compacted. As far as depth, I’d try to go as far down as you can without wounding/scraping a bunch of pencil/fibrous roots on your way down. I can PM you a picture of a recent excavation I did on a buried Gingko, if you’re interested.
In regards to the large roots crossing over other roots, we call these “girdling roots” or any roots that are growing in a more circular pattern than away from the main stem, effectively the tree growing its own tourniquet that cuts off more and more nutrient flow up the roots as it goes unnoticed; these girdling roots should be removed but only to a certain degree and this is largely relative to the size & health of the tree.
The best time to fix this issue was when it was first planted (or even earlier, in the nursery, to the extent it was possible).
You’ve done good. It looks much better.