Should I cut these crossing surface roots?

[whitenack]

Several years ago, I came to you guys for help on excavating a red maple planted way too deep. While it was a lot of work, I learned a valuable lesson in finding the root flare and what a newly planted tree should look like. In fact, that little tree is still my avatar after all these years.

Well, seven years have gone by and the tree (and the little boy in my picture) are bigger now. I noticed this year that I have a couple of roots that are crossing over each other. I guess as the bigger, lower roots rise to the surface they are bringing some smaller, crossing roots with them. See the pics. Forgive the weeds and my lack of mulching...I'll do that after I decide what to do with the roots.

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Will this cause any problems in the future? Should I cut these roots or leave them alone?

 

[Raintree]

Considering the size of the tree it wouldn't hurt to snip them.

 

[JOE.G]

I have some trees with roots like that, What is the purpose of cutting the roots? Is it bad if I don't?

 

[whitenack]

Joe,

I was/am worried that the large roots will continue to rise out of the ground, and will eventually be constricted by the smaller root that crosses it. Especially the root in the first pic...it is crossing the root flare.

 

[ropensaddle]

Joe,

I was/am worried that the large roots will continue to rise out of the ground, and will eventually be constricted by the smaller root that crosses it. Especially the root in the first pic...it is crossing the root flare.

Roots that are not directed away from the trunk can cause health issues for the tree, and tree death in certain cases. Look for roots that are circling close to the trunk, roots that are embedded in the trunk, or those that are crossed over main roots at the base of the trunk. Roots circling or touching the trunk are often referred to as stem girdling roots. These can reduce the flow of water, nutrients, and sugars at this point on the trunk. On some species of trees, stem girdling roots cause death to the bark above the root.

Treatment: If these are less than about one-third the trunk diameter, and they can be removed without damaging the trunk, then carefully cut and remove them . This will allow roots and trunk under the girdling root to develop properly. Some arborists have removed larger girdling roots with no adverse affects on the tree. Trees often respond to removing girdling roots with increased vigor.

 

[JOE.G]

I don't know to much about what is good or bad for trees, I do hav some trees with this type root set up. I can see how it could be tight and cause a problem.

 

[ropensaddle]

Joe,

I was/am worried that the large roots will continue to rise out of the ground, and will eventually be constricted by the smaller root that crosses it. Especially the root in the first pic...it is crossing the root flare.

When you planted did u use native soil in the planting hole ?

 

[JOE.G]

One of these day's maybe I'll go out there and start to snip them.

 

[whitenack]

Thanks for the replies.

When you planted did u use native soil in the planting hole ?

Yes. The problem with this tree was that it was buried way too deep at the nursery. I didn't realize this fact until I brought it home and started searching for the root flare. If you'll follow the links in my first post, you'll see what I was dealing with.