How are your trees planted? Can you see the root flare?
A mature tree with lots of flare!
The root flare (or the root collar) of a tree is the foot or anchor of the tree…it’s the tapered part of the trunk that meets the ground and should be visible and exposed to air. When trees are planted too deeply or mulched improperly, the root collar may be buried.
When a tree looks like a telephone pole coming out of the ground or the mulch is piled high around the trunk, that is an invitation to several serious problems to develop over time like girdling roots, fungal wood decay, trunk rot, and primary root suffocation.
Root collar excavation exposes the base of the tree and will extend the life of your tree.
A tree after a root collar excavation. Due to volcano mulching the root flare of this tree was buried causing girdling roots that choke the tree. It easy to see where the old soil line was and that several adventitious roots were removed.