Always learning

Tree_Frog

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Location
Florida
I came upon this poplar that blew down in a wind storm on the fourth of July. I am always trying to learn so here are some pics to see if your guess is as good as mine. A lot of trees fell in this storm and it was a great day for me to learn.
 

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Tom,
I am gonna take a shot in the dark here and say that your girdling root theory would most likely be cause by planting too deep. It looks like a younger tree and I don't see much if any root flair to it. It has that telephone pole look to it.
 
Is it the way of reproducing that went wrong?
In Holland we use as a method of reproducing (I think it is called grafting in English) 'nice trees with the same looks all the lane thru' /forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
You can't get that from seedlings, and the use of seedlings is not always possible.

IMO this trees point of grafting is the problem. The way the tree is growing at a grafting point is ALLWAYS a problem for the trees stability, hence the big collar on most grafts.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Tom,
I am gonna take a shot in the dark here and say that your girdling root theory would most likely be cause by planting too deep. It looks like a younger tree and I don't see much if any root flair to it. It has that telephone pole look to it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Being buried too deep and girdling roots are usually the same kind of problem. Sometimes trees balled and burlaped are done so several times and you see more girdling roots.
This is so because every time they b and b a tree it pushes more dirt onto the stem, just as a function of the tree spades.


Even trees that are B and B only once can see roots curling up and back towards the stem before the burlap is broken down in the soil, particularly red maples around here. It's even worse with the synthetic material they sometimes use, because that doesn't break down at all.


You are right as well with the fact a tree buried too deep will form girdling roots, these type of roots usually form above the root flare if they are young. Older trees tend not to develop many adventitous roots above the flare, from what I have experienced. Maybe others have seen otherwise though.


It could be someone regraded after the tree had been planted causing girdiling roots to form. The tree seems pretty young so it might not be in this case. Another thing it could have caused failure is the use of synthetic twine when it was b and b causing the same effect.


Prior to the tree failing, say a year maybe two, I think a root crown excavation would probably not have saved this particular tree.

Steve
 
One thing that I noticed was the remaining piece of a stake that was used to support it. The trend around here is to place one stake across the trunk and leave it for a few years. I have a feeling that this may have retarted the root development on that failure side as well as the girdling roots and planting depth.

Thanks for taking the time with this.
 

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