Tree planted to deep

[Mark K]

I planted a Prairifire Flowering Crab Apple tree about a year ago and removed the wire basket and as much of the burlap as possible. The problem is that I believe the tree has been planted to deep (loose ball and maybe settling). Should I do anything with this or continue waiting to see how the tree does?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

do you see a good flair at the base of th trunk where it transitions to root? if no flair is visible then I would excavate down to the first order roots, slopping the "pit" back so that the tree will have room to grow. Any encircling roots should be straightened out and burried in slit trenches.