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Stop ignoring girdling roots when you plant trees

Ive been doing tree work in Portland for about 6 years now and I keep seeing the same mistake over and over. People buy a tree from the nursery, dig a hole, and just drop it in without checking the roots. Last week I pulled a 4 inch caliper maple that died after 3 years because the roots had wrapped around the trunk and choked it out. The nursery pot had shaped them into a circle and nobody cut them loose at planting time. How many of you actually unwrap and spread roots before you backfill?
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2 Comments
hannah_williams
Just let the tree sort itself out, that's nature's problem.
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blake_smith
Have you tried butterfly-ing the roots before planting your trees?
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