It starts at Day 1

When we take a tree from its native environment and plop it in the middle of the landscape, we're taking on a lot of responsibility.  The seemingly simple step of planting a tree can be the most important moment for the plant over the course of its life.

In the picture below are two oaks planted at the same time and at the same size.  The tree in the left of the picture was planted with the root collar exposed and at the proper grade.  The tree to the right was planted with root collar well below grade.  Several years down the line the correctly planted tree is far out performing the improperly planted tree.

The precedent for how these trees will function in the landscape was set on the day they were planted.   Proper planting, soil moisture, soil texture, etc. all play a part in how our trees will survive. Attention to detail is important to the long-term success of any introduced tree in our landscapes.

The Root Collar, Oh No

By now we all know trees in the landscape, big or small, should have an exposed root collar. The root collar is the area of the lower trunk that flares out at ground level.  It is the transition area between the stem and the structural root system of a tree.

Tree root collars have evolved over eons to be exposed to air.  Buried root collars are detrimental for several reasons.  Cell respiration is disrupted, adding just one more stress to the tree.  This area of the tree can be intolerant to prolonged soil moisture, which can decompose tree bark and give way to stem pathogens.  Finally, buried root collars can lead to and disguise stem girdling roots.

Stem girdling roots arise in a few ways. When root collars are buried the tree reacts as if part of the root system has been damaged, and the tree forms a secondary root system.  These secondary roots can grow parallel to the stem, and begin girdling.  The other danger in this scenario, the secondary root system may take over water and nutrient uptake for the tree while the primary/structural roots slowly rot away.  Thus, a tree that looks perfectly healthy is standing with little to no structural root system.

Another way girdling roots develop on our landscape trees is through container production.  Many of the trees we plant are started in pots. When trees are allowed to stay in these pots for too long roots interact with the sides and begin circling the container. In many cases this is allowed to happen through every change in pot size, creating an almost hopeless structural root system.

With all that said, here are some pictures of messed up root collars and girdling roots:

Girdling roots around the circumference of the lower stem.

Large impacted girdling root, notice the diameter of the root compared to the diameter of the stem.

Severed girdling root, notice the large amount of stem damage that has occured.

Red Maples: What a Bummer

By some twist of arboricultural fate I was charged with doing an 800 tree inventory this past week.  About 60% of the trees were.... you guessed it red maples.  Of these not one was with out co-dominate stems combined with some kind of defect.  Be it girdling roots, buried root collar, gloomy scale, or all of thee above.  Lets take a pictorial look at the mayhem.

So many co-dominate stems all coming from the same area on the tree.

A crack in the stem originating from co-dominate stems and leading almost to the ground.

Gloomy scales piled upon gloomy scales feeding upon there victim.

More sever cracks originating from co-dominate stems.

Of course a pictorial account of red maple defects would not be complete with out some impacted stem girdling roots.

Multiple upright branches with associated storm damage.

Left unattended since planting, these trees have become a maintenance nightmare.  Young tree pruning and proper planting are paramount, and this tree inventory is a prime argument.  To correctly mend these issues this home owners association will be looking at more than a $50,000 price tag.  Red maples, what a bummer right?