No root flare on bur oak saplings

[whitenack]

With my new education on root flares, I have been looking around for flares to uncover.

You guys may or may not remember, but I have a patch of young bur oak saplings that I have nursed from acorns.

To bring you up to speed, I collected acorns from a local cemetery, dropped them in some milk cartons, nursed the seedlings through the winter indoors, planted them in groups the next spring, nursed them along that spring/summer, thinned the herds the next year.

Currently I have 10 or so left from cutting back the poorly formed, or just otherwise inferior saplings compared to ones planted next to them.

My question:
Now that I am on this big "where's the root flare" kick, I am concerned that I don't see any on my burs.

I planted these guys bare root when they were no bigger than a pencil, being very careful to plant them at the same level they were in the milk cartons, which was the same level they were planted as acorns.

In other words, the acorn depth has not changed at all, so why aren't I seeing any flares?

Does it have something to do with the age of the tree, or maybe the species?

Should I excavate and see if I can find a flare, or just leave them be, and trust that I planted them properly?


Trees are approx 7 feet tall, 1" wide, collected in fall of '02. Sorry, this is the best group pic I could get.

Close up of one of the trees.

 

[Elmore]

The root flare or root crown is still at the junction of the basal end of the stem and the top most lateral roots. As long as they are planted at the proper depth the flare should become apparent with age. Go into the woods and look at naturally growing small and large trees. On the small trees you will often not see much if any flare.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...oot+flare+definition&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=9

from the above HTML article :
"Now, for the ‘Right Way’ portion of this article: - Locate the root flare within the root ball and dig the hole according to that depth. The root flare can be defined as the junction of a the stem and the first main lateral roots. You may use a surveyor’s pin or a screwdriver to probe the root ball. If there is excessive soil over the root flare, remove that after you have rolled it into the hole and have peeled back the burlap. The root flare should be placed at soil level. What we used to say was, “Plant the tree at the same depth it is currently.” What I suggest we say now is, “Locate the root flare and be sure to plant that at the soil level”. Dig the top portion of the hole twice as wide as the root ball. This is the area where most of the initial lateral root growth will take place. If planting in a poorly drained clay soil or in an irrigated lawn you may consider planting higher and mounding the soil over the root ball."

 

[treeseer]

whitenack it looks like your tree has negative taper. Where is the topmost root?

It's good to see that KS extension folks are getting it right on planting depth. I agree with all that Kate quoted except "Dig the top portion of the hole twice as wide as the root ball. This is the area where most of the initial lateral root growth will take place."

Just because most of the intial growth MAY BE near the surface, does not mean that the hole should not be deep and wide. Roots grow where they can--if you prepare a deep bed, roots will grow deeper. In any case, can it ever hurt?

The best quote from that extension pub is this: "What I like most about this list is that it is not just one person’s or group’s opinion it is a **copulation** of many individuals and organizations."

Horticulturists have all the fun!!!

 

[whitenack]

whitenack it looks like your tree has negative taper. Where is the topmost root?

I don't know. The tree has laid undisturbed since it's transplanting 3 years ago.

At the transplanting, the little seedlings were maybe a foot tall, the roots were maybe a foot deep.

At the time of the transplanting, I'd say the root ball was no more than 1 inch below the surface.

 

[whitenack]

Would it make a difference how deep the acorn was planted?

If a acorn was planted an inch or two deeper than normal would the tree compensate for that, or stay an inch or two deeper than normal?

 

[whitenack]

Hey guys,

I'm digging this topic back out again. We are a year older, and the largest tree of the group is now in the 1-1/2 to 2 inch range, and still no flare.

I can't figure out why there wouldn't be a flare. I transplanted the tree at the same depth the acorn was planted. Could it be that bur oak saplings don't have root flares?

Should I excavate one of the smaller trees to see if I find anything or just let them be?

 

[treeseer]

Could it be that bur oak saplings don't have root flares?

Many saplings don't. They don't need them yet.

Should I excavate one of the smaller trees to see if I find anything ?

Sure go ahead, do it for the cause of science!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Bur oaks may not get root flair for years since the root system is somewhat different then most other upland trees.

Being a mezic prairie plant the root sytem is deeper does not develop the First Order Roots and palasade structure that you see on mature trees.

I would dig down so that you see the first root near the surface.

The biggest thing is to not have any encircling roots in the area where the the trunk will expand. on dug trees this is such a problem because we sever so many roots at harvest. this stimulates disorganized advanticous growth.

We do not have this disorganized growth with seedlings if the roots are placed in a somewhat natural position. Even if too deep the roots can radiate out in a natural pattern.

One theory (idea?) is that it does not matter where the roots grow as long as there are some rootsat the top of the rootplate at least 1/3 the trunk apart.

Anyone working with large trees has seen large trees with some "stovepipe" formations where a root has compressed one face of trunk, but the tree adapts and grows well with the defect.