Interesting Tree failure - girdling roots?

[Treeation]

was this just a plain Aesculus hippocastanum ? it looks a bit like a graft union at the base that has perhaps failed .

 

Hi, yep pretty sure it was plain old hippocastanum. Didnt look like it had broken off at a graft union. Just looked in Body language of trees and Matheck refers to the "strangler snake in a ground hole" that looks remarkably like the HC failure.

[Steve Bullman]

Thanks for sharing, very interesting. Amazing it didn't go sooner when you look at the images!

[Gary Prentice]

Thanks for sharing, very interesting. Amazing it didn't go sooner when you look at the images!

 

That surprises me too.

 

When you start looking at a lot of trees and see how many lack appreciable buttresses around part of the root flare, I often suspect that there's underground self-girdling roots.

 

Do you recommend reductions in an attempt to make them safer?

[Treeation]

That surprises me too.

 

When you start looking at a lot of trees and see how many lack appreciable buttresses around part of the root flare, I often suspect that there's underground self-girdling roots.

 

Do you recommend reductions in an attempt to make them safer?

 

I guess it would make sense to, wouldnt have fancied my chances of being in the HC though! Although, I had prescribed some minor pruning....l think I dodged the bullet there!

[treeseer]

Totally a nursery defect; could have been corrected at planting time.

 

Growing grass up to the trunk obscures these problems, and so many others. "The flare SHALL be visible at all times" quoth the ANSI standards.

[armybloke]

You may find this interesting to read

[armybloke]

...and you may like to read this too....

[Adam M]

...and you may like to read this too....

 

Good article

[Treeation]

...and you may like to read this too....

 

Thanks Armybloke, these look really interesting I have downloaded both and look forward to reading them when I get some time

[Mark Wileman]

How would this have been rectified at the planting stage, by inspecting the root mass and ensuring they aren't girdling/wrapped up too much?

The trunk is an odd shape considering there are no lateral roots there, it does look like it has a small buttress (prominent in the second photo with classic hippocastanum twisting of the trunk).

Thanks for sharing.