Since the question comes up quite often, and since we need visuals, here are two examples as they appeared on the front page of the Dirt Doctor site


Proper Root Flare shown here:





Absent root flare:

Unfortunately, the second picture looks like almost all of the trees I see planted in Arlington along the roadways!!!! What's worse is they pack 3 or 4 inches of some kind of red mulch right on the trunk this time of year. Some are very large live oaks, which look very healthy, just no root flare.

Could you please post sample pictures of brand new (3-4 inch caliper) trees, both planted correctly and too deep? The flare's pretty obvious on a mature tree like the one in the first picture, but what does it look like on the kind of trees we're actually going to be planting?

If you have a 3 to 4 inch caliper tree, there is a root flare in there somewhere!!!! You have obviously spent a decent amount of money for this size of a tree. I planted a shumard red oak and a sweetgum last August that are just at 1 inch caliper or smaller. Look for where the trunk starts to thicken at the bottom. I would think this would be very noticable on trees of this caliper. Remember, a lot of trees nowadays are planted too deeply!!! You might have to remove some soil from the top of the trunk. Planting a little higher in the ground is always better than planting too low in the ground. I see this all of the time. Good luck!!!

http://rootflare.com/whywerehere.html
The above link has photos of trees the way they should and should not be planted, as well as what girdling roots look like.

An error message comes up with that link rootflare link. The domain ownership apparently expired.

The real problem when planting trees with this small amount of 'base bulk' to hold them upright, is going to be when they have leaves & also are planted later, like in the Summer, & which may still be a problem when they leaf out in the Spring when we get those gusty Spring winds & storms
____________________________

Chairs