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Overheard a guy at the lumber yard talking about root flares

I was waiting for my lumber order last Friday and this older arborist was telling a younger guy how most of the trees he sees get planted way too deep. He said 'if the root flare ain't visible, you're basically burying the tree alive over 5 to 10 years.' That hit me because I noticed the same thing on my neighbor's oak they planted 8 years back, it's already showing stress with those thin upper branches. Anyone here run into trees that were planted too deep and actually managed to save them by exposing the flare?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookef731mo ago

Honestly, that arborist nailed it with the "buried alive" bit. I've seen guys do the same thing with trees in their yards, thinking deeper is better for roots, but it just suffocates them over time. A buddy of mine had a maple planted too deep for six years, and we dug down to expose maybe two feet of trunk that was underground, cut back all those girdling roots, and it actually bounced back with thicker growth the next spring. Tbh, if you catch it early enough and don't have to cut too many major roots, they can usually recover, but it's a gamble the longer you wait.

jade2261mo ago

@brookef73 absolutely, that "two feet of trunk underground" bit is wild, I dug out a neighbors oak that had the same issue and it came back strong too.