Roots

[TreEmergencyB]

My boss bought an air spade and we had it out the other day, we know these 2 small maples were having root issues but we didnt know how bad or what.

any suggestions we thought we should probally remove the girdling roots but dont want to cause more damage. if we were to remove them how abouts you go at that, those are a lil more than hand pruners will take care of. anything else you see there? Also any links or advice on where to further our root pruning and proper structure knowledge would be great.

BTW: These trees are on freind of my bosses yard and is letting us use them to experiment/learn with the air spade

 

[ATH]

Corona Root saw, a set of chisles, and a dedicated pair of decent (but not too expensive...) pruners are invaluable when you are working on roots.

Regarding not wanting to do too much damage: We know the fate of the tree if you do not remove the girdling roots, right? So, with that in mind, get them out of there doing as little damage as you can.

On a tree like that I'd remove the roots immediately putting pressure on the trunk. There are other roots that are obviously going to be a problem in a few years. I'd come back for those in 2-3 years rather than cutting out a huge chunk of the root system now.

If the first picture, it looks like the tree is on a little bit of a mound. Can you fix the planting depth by making it level with the ground.

 

[treeseer]

this tim eof year i'd say do the north side now and the south side in september. attached tci piece on this and the peer-reviewed version.

also just blow near the stem, clip, and pull it away, and clip the other end. no need drying out roots >1' from stem. ath is right about just clearing the stem now.

i use loppers first and formost--good for cutting and pulling

 

[flushcut]

opcorn:

 

[PinnaclePete]

:agree2:

Love me my AirSpade, saved many a tree and learned alot in the past 6 years.

I also use a SawzAll a few inches from the stem to prevent damage. A steel blade is handy for cutting wire baskets.

 

[David (saltas)]

"this time of year i'd say do the north side now and the south side in september. attached tci piece on this and the peer-reviewed version.

also just blow near the stem, clip, and pull it away, and clip the other end. no need drying out roots >1' from stem. ath is right about just clearing the stem now.

i use loppers first and formost--good for cutting and pulling"

Back fill with coarse sand instead of those rocks "LBG III Managing Stem-Girdling Roots1.doc.pdf‎ "