That time a storm in Cincinnati showed me why you always check the root flare

I was clearing storm damage from a big silver maple last fall, and the whole thing had tipped over. When I got to the base, I saw the root flare was buried under about 8 inches of soil and mulch from when the property was landscaped. The guy who planted it decades ago never exposed it, so the tree never anchored properly. Now I use a hand trowel to check the flare on every assessment, even if the tree looks fine. Anyone else run into this on older residential jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

milesbailey21d ago

Yeah, that buried flare is such a silent killer. I mean, it's not just the anchoring, right? The constant moisture against the trunk from that buried bark has to invite every rot and disease in the book long before it ever falls over. Makes you wonder how many "mysterious" declines start down there.

lunag3020d ago

Ugh, it's like a slow death sentence.

fiona98520d ago

Exactly, that hidden moisture basically sets up a permanent infection site. The tree's fighting a battle you can't even see.