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PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 1:24 pm 
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Location: Dallas,TEXAS
This sweet gum tree was planted too low about 6" or so. Last November I excavated the soil to expose the flare, but this root shown in the 2 photos below appears to be affecting trunk growth. If it needs to be pruned, is there a preferred method to minimize stress to the tree? Will applying tree trunk goop to the cut areas be ncessary? I realize I probably should have taken care of this while the tree was dormant. Looking for advice.

~Dave

This photo shows what I'm assuming is the trunk's growth being effected by the root.

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Close-up of the root.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:53 pm 
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That's a girdling root which is very common in trees planted too low or stuck in their "clay bowl". It will damage the tree. I've been out with the crews during the airspade treatments and have seen this often.
Cut it off near the base of the tree and let it rot. If you try to pull the entire root out you will upset the root system.
Tony M


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 9:57 pm 
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Boy am I glad that I decided to ask before I did anything! I'd never heard about leaving the root in place after cutting it and probably would have tried ripping it out.

After cutting it, should I pull it away from the trunk a bit in order to keep it from doing more damage to the trunk? I've already done the sick tree treatment a number of times this and all of my other trees as a general health regimen. Is applying compost or tree trunk goop at the cut to help with healing necessary?

Thanks, Tony!

~Dave


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:10 am 
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Just excavate and remove the root showing as much as you can with as little disturbance to the root area as possible. No TTG is necessary.
You might take a stiff broom or a strong stream of water and expose more of the root system to see if other roots are doing the same thing, underground. If it looks like most of the roots are still in a ball you will have to open up the soil around them.
Tony M


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 12, 2004 9:31 am 
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Alright, I chiseled off the girdling root, no problem. I started excavating more soil to see if there were further problems using a nylon bristled brush, but started runing into tiny roots. I stopped at that point, not wanting to do more harm than good, chopped up the original root into "shavings" and added it to the existing cedar mulch bed. Hope this didn't stress the tree a whole lot..

Thanks again, Tony!

~Dave


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