Grenfell
ArboristSite Member
After admiring the perfect form of the root flare on my mature silver maple, I looked over at my mature pin oak (about 16" dbh, 50' tall) and I notice there isn't much of a root flare. There's a bit, but not very prominent. It seems to be a very healthy tree otherwise.
So I excavated around the base gently and guess what? A bunch of soon-to-girdle adventitious roots.
Luckily, the roots were all relatively small and I was able to get rid of them easily. Some had already started to wrap the trunk. I've now dug down about 4" around the base and exposed as much of the flare as I think is necessary. I can't see any more girdling roots.
1) Should I stop here?
Then there is the remaining soil around the tree, which is higher than the now exposed flare. I may not be able to make it perfect, but I can decrease the slope gently. I started to rake out the soil and noticed quite a few small, fibrous roots.
2) Should I just gently slope the remaining soil away or leave it so as not to disturb the roots? If I leave it as is, water will pool around the base, so I suppose some sculpting is in order?
3) There seems to be one largish adventitous root protruding from the back (see the base_back.jpg file). It is heading out away from the tree, so I think I will leave it?
Thanks again for your help. This is the last of the problem trees on my property. I had no idea what I had inherited.
P.S. Not sure if I can pay back all this advice, but if you guys ever need any PC advice/troubleshooting, I'm your man.
So I excavated around the base gently and guess what? A bunch of soon-to-girdle adventitious roots.
Luckily, the roots were all relatively small and I was able to get rid of them easily. Some had already started to wrap the trunk. I've now dug down about 4" around the base and exposed as much of the flare as I think is necessary. I can't see any more girdling roots.
1) Should I stop here?
Then there is the remaining soil around the tree, which is higher than the now exposed flare. I may not be able to make it perfect, but I can decrease the slope gently. I started to rake out the soil and noticed quite a few small, fibrous roots.
2) Should I just gently slope the remaining soil away or leave it so as not to disturb the roots? If I leave it as is, water will pool around the base, so I suppose some sculpting is in order?
3) There seems to be one largish adventitous root protruding from the back (see the base_back.jpg file). It is heading out away from the tree, so I think I will leave it?
Thanks again for your help. This is the last of the problem trees on my property. I had no idea what I had inherited.
P.S. Not sure if I can pay back all this advice, but if you guys ever need any PC advice/troubleshooting, I'm your man.