Root Flare - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

A tree is not a telephone pole, yet you so often see self proclaimed tree experts, self proclaimed "arborists" whom I can only refer to as professional screw-ups, improperly planting new trees or improperly altering the planting of existing trees by mounding soil up the tree's trunk way too high.

Just look at these photos of two unfortunate neighborhood trees on which this blunder has been inflicted:

 

To see what the sad consequences of making this mistake can be, please take a look at:

  http://www.dirtdoctor.com/organic/garden/view_question/id/484/

The cell structures of a tree that belong above the soil line are not the same as the cell structures that belong below the soil line. There is a portion of the tree's structure called the "root flare" which is supposed to be just above the soil line and not beneath.

Unless planted properly at the outset with root flare above the soil line, tree health will be damaged and tree life will be shortened.

Now look at these two next tress that have been planted correctly with the soil flat around the root flares and not mounded:  

 

These properly planted trees are in Planting Fields Arboretum at 1395 Planting Fields Road Oyster Bay, NY 11771. The improperly planted trees are in my local neighborhood in which, appallingly, every newly planted tree has been put in incorrectly.

Note that the soil around the bases of these planting Fields trees has not been mounded. The root flares are properly placed. Thus, when properly planted trees advance into maturity, you get results like this:

 

 Now check out this venerable monarch to really see how root flare should develop:   

 

The great puzzle in my mind is this:

Every young tree I could find in my own neighborhood going for blocks in every direction has been improperly planted with the soil mounded.

How can such an improper practice as soil mounding become so commonplace? How can such utter misinformation about how to plant trees get to be so widespread?

How many other commonplace practices do you know of that are wrong too?

Comments

[Dick LaRosa]

Thanks, John.
More stuff I didn't know. Been getting by on dumb luck for a half century.

[William Ketel]

You do make a very good point, and the reason should also be provided. If a portion of the bark, the above ground part, is buried so that it is constantly wet, it will probably rot, which will break the path for fluid to travel up the tree, with the same effect as girdling the tree with a chainsaw. So it is an effective means of sabotage, but not of assuring healthy trees.
The reason that you see so many planted incorrectly is that somebody who "speaks well", but is ignorant, said that was the way to do it, and because they spoke well it was assumed that they knew something. Unfortunately this happens maney times every day.