Removing girdling roots?

[Waldo]

Don,
Why would you back fill soil onto where you just cut a girdling root. Wouldn't the BMP be to leave the root collar exposed so no more girdling roots grow there?

 

[UncleDon]

Good point Waldo. But I would be more concerned about pathogen contamination from soil into the cut than about more girdling roots developing. It was a judgement call with strong input from the owner who preferred to re-establish the soil grade under the front yard entry garden tree for aesthetic reasons, and she was opposed to leaving it open.

 

[UncleDon]

I should have mentioned that at the time I started the root crown exam I wasn't sure what all I would find, and part of that exam was to determine if wood decay pathogen infection was involved or to rule out what others had proposed. I was looking for discoloration and decay around the root collar and buttress roots, including the underneath surface where soil and bark can stay wet longer. But the tissues looked clean and healthy. So I focused on the find of a girdling root and decided that was the main problem.

 

[Redtree]

Good work Don. I like how you acknowledge how the success of your tree may have come from the other work you did. Did the Tylenol fix the headache or did it just go away? But I also think that in the long run it is much better cut. Without root cuts, the trees recent improvement would likely be short lived.
In other cases roots seem to look grafted to the trunk. They don't graft. So cutting is better even if you make two or three cuts and are unable to remove the piece(s). Going 50 percent around means not cutting will most likely stunt or over stress the tree so what do you have to lose? There are times when you feel more confident about girdling root pruning and times you'll feel less confident. But doing nothing to a stressed and girdled tree will never be a better option.

 

[Commensalist]

Good posts by Don and Ryan Redtree I wonder though about backfilling done what did you use the same soil?
In Europe there's been experimentation with backfilling with perlite and with expanded aggregate aka Stalingrad get both of which would allow air ration around the pruning loans while restoring grade which is an important thing in many landscapes
One guy in Italy actually nicks the roots as he removes the soil intentional wounding or pruning you could say and then back feels with Statelite and then runs and oxygen bubbler in there like a fish tank and the amount of adventures as root growth he got from those wounded points was just amazing
So are you sorry about the voice recognition software Stallon grad is actually stay lights and adventures is actually adventurous
The write up on this at landscape below ground conference is up on my website as is the original piece written for TCI both of these are what five and 78 years old but I haven't seen much written on it since then and I hope it still holds up
Sorry I can't edit the above I'm afraid my fingers have too much Calais to be working on the screen

 

[Commensalist]

Oh and Waldo there is no I S a BMP on route management they were too busy putting the track program together so that unfortunately went on the back burner
But I agree leaving the area open is vastly preferable and if grade must be restored it should be with the most porous material possible and landscape below ground I shared an approach by Ken six and Texas recently deceased who used smooth pebbles to do that job but I'm afraid that traps too much moisture and I've gone to expanded aggregate since then

 

[KevinS]

When crown pruning trees you aim to take x amount out so sometimes a tree has to be revisited every couple years to get the end result you want.

Does any one do roots the same way elevate x amount of the issue now and in a could years finish as not to stress it?

Or is that not so much an issue dig it up and do it once?

 

[guymayor]

like pruning, % is less of a criterion than wound size, lengths...

of course dose is often a big consideration, imo. o and my phone somehow calls me Commensalist. ?

 

[Treespotter]

IMHO you don't need to remove the girdling roots. What you have to do is cut it (maybe in more than one place).
By cutting you relieve the tension on the underlying bark. Removing those roots only risks damaging the trees bark tissue.
It's never a question whether you have to cut/remove girdling roots. Always do.

 

[cmw]

Funny, I don't have much time to spend here, but then one day I do an old thread of mine pops up! So I might as well update. The tree in the original post is doing great. However, a nearby tree in a similar situation, girdling roots removed with a chisel, died this summer.

I like treespotters advice on cutting, but not removing roots. We do this on less severe girdling roots with success.

 

[Treespotter]

That's too bad. Nice though that your tree is doing great.

Wolter

 

[tedantle]

Team: any thoughts on this challenge? Approximately 15yr old Norway Maple. Also is the girdle "fused" to the trunk near #6 & #7?

 

[KevinS]

I’d love to make more of a sgr pruning program at my company but a few initial obstacles are

1. How to briefly but effectively educate potential clients the way they understand building clearance pruning.

2. Effective pricing model to show the boss we’re not going to lose our shirts going down the rabbit hole (1 thought $/“ x stump diameter. Or same price as a stump grinding job and you save the removal price)

3. Sell enough of this work to ‘make it worth our while’

Selling a fair price on an invisible problem can sometimes be an issue.

Love to hear thoughts and solutions, thanks.

 

[JD3000]

If your bosses don't think SGRs are a problem...

 

[southsoundtree]

Hourly rate with proper tools. Needs a good Powerpoint-type presentation to sell it easily.

 

[JD3000]

Hourly rate with proper tools. Needs a good Powerpoint-type presentation to sell it easily.

Bingo, like selling any other work

 

[TCtreeswinger]

Tip sheet. Pics of sgr's and decline symptoms so the customer can see it. Charged hourly since no one knows how severe until youstart.

 

[southsoundtree]

Photo-Documenting how long it took to do certain trees, and what it looks like below ground, with 'Before' pics of the crown, and years later, 'After' pics, might help customers decide.
Start with an "Expect to have at least X hours into the tree, at $1,000,000/ employee-hour." Maybe a lesser rate if you want to sell it.

You're going to need to point out things like Removal and Grinding costs.
Shade value vs. A/C costs.
Real estate value.
Screening/ privacy value.