Adventitious Roots - John Dunn, Consultant, Ambertec, P.E., P.C.

Just over ten years ago, I posted an essay about so-called arborists and garden services messing up the planting of new trees.

Please see and carefully read: Root Flare

All of this time, there was this one word of which I knew, but which I could not exactly recall that is descriptive of the tree root trouble that arises from improper treatment of a tree's root flare. After all these years, I found it. The work is "adventitious" as in adventitious roots which you do NOT want to have developing.

Please now see the following Google search result for the search term " adventitious roots":   Adventitious Roots

Even today, I still see newly planted trees with soil mounded up over the root flare. That improper practice causes roots to develop from tree tissue that is supposed to be above the soil line and which is NOT supposed to yield roots.

It is astonishing that such arboreal malpractice is so tenaciously commonplace. If you own property with trees or if you have plans for new trees, please don't fall prey to this.

Please don't let your trees fall prey to this.

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Note: The word "adventitious" is not a part of everyday language, but it may be easier to remember that word if we notice that the first six letters are a-d-v-e-n-t and that one synonym of the word "advent" is the word "origin". The unwanted roots will have their developmental origin or advent in response to improper mounding of soil and burial of the root flare.