ron in sc
ArboristSite Lurker
Location: Charleston, SC
Tree type: Live Oak
Problem: Was surrounded by railroad ties, estimate them to have been 6' to 8' long and surrounded on all four sides to a height of maybe 16" to 18", also had hydrangeas in the box too.
The tree was pruned professionally and I was advised that dirt to high around trunk of tree and that tree should not have essentially been boxed in like it was. Tree has been like that for 25 years and it has not grown real well like other live oaks on my property.
I removed hydrangeas and everything else very carefully, use my pressure washer to do the last bit on relatively low pressure and found what is I think is the root flare, please see photos below. Part of the flare which I could only find on one side of the tree looks kind of like cypress knees. I did get it down to what is essentially ground level. It looks a little ruff in the photos but its not that bad as far as damage goes. I do intend to have it professionally fertilized.
Question: Should I put back any dirt, dig deeper or just cover what I have exposed with mulch, oak chips? Or do something else?
Tree type: Live Oak
Problem: Was surrounded by railroad ties, estimate them to have been 6' to 8' long and surrounded on all four sides to a height of maybe 16" to 18", also had hydrangeas in the box too.
The tree was pruned professionally and I was advised that dirt to high around trunk of tree and that tree should not have essentially been boxed in like it was. Tree has been like that for 25 years and it has not grown real well like other live oaks on my property.
I removed hydrangeas and everything else very carefully, use my pressure washer to do the last bit on relatively low pressure and found what is I think is the root flare, please see photos below. Part of the flare which I could only find on one side of the tree looks kind of like cypress knees. I did get it down to what is essentially ground level. It looks a little ruff in the photos but its not that bad as far as damage goes. I do intend to have it professionally fertilized.
Question: Should I put back any dirt, dig deeper or just cover what I have exposed with mulch, oak chips? Or do something else?