I have a maple tree that has been in the ground for about 10 years. It was probably a #5 pot and about 5 feet tall when planted, though I don't remember for sure. It has always looked a bit sickly and not grown much in those 10 years. It was planted about 20 feet from a large honey locust that was just removed due to size, mess, root damage, etc. The honey locust was probably 40-50 feet wide and tall when taken down and overshadowed the maple. The original plan when planting the maple was to let it get some size and then remove the locust. However the maple never really took off and we decided it was time for the locust to go. I realize now that I planted the maple ~4" too deep. I dug it out a bit to check for girdling roots and didn't see any currently causing issues, although the two large roots that are not growing straight out have me concerned. You can see the size difference of the locust and maple (to the right of the locust) as well as the root flare of the maple in the attached pictures.
I am trying to decide if I should give the maple a chance now that the locust is gone. Or just rip the band aid and remove the maple and plant a new tree (correctly this time). I don't want to wait if the maple is unlikely to grow into a healthy shade tree at this point. Any suggestions?
I am trying to decide if I should give the maple a chance now that the locust is gone. Or just rip the band aid and remove the maple and plant a new tree (correctly this time). I don't want to wait if the maple is unlikely to grow into a healthy shade tree at this point. Any suggestions?