>It's hard to believe they don't realize there's a problem. Makes one wonder if they can really be that out of touch, or, if they just don't care< You could be talking about most of the industry - pretty much anything woody that has been in a band, liner or 4 inch pot at some point in the production cycle is very likely to end up being offered to the retail public with terrible root deformities right at the base of the stem, where you often can't do anything about it. Despite being a retailer Burnt Ridge is an actual grower that produces their own finished stock. I have been to their property at least a couple of times, the quality and value of the trees their field growing operation generates can be stunning. And they have a hillside planted with all manner of chestnut cultivars and other edible theme trees; if they were located in Britain they might be the holders of the National Collection of just the chestnuts alone. So I would keep watching what they offer over the years (catalag seems to have a number of new and interesting items every year), and just keep in mind that - same as elsewhere - there is a tendency for bare-rooted dormant stock to have better roots than potted stock. Also with mail order in general, because you are not able to inspect the plants before purchase it is a good idea to limit your catalog/internet purchases to those items it appears you really can't get somewhere you are willing or able to travel to yourself. I've been known to drive as far as the San Diego area to shop plants myself.

the irony is that now that I know how to plant trees properly I don't have many more to plant! I've already put in 30 in the last 5 years. The yellowing leaves alarmed me a few days ago when they appeared. A quick google / forum search said that young river birchs will do this when stressed by hot, dry weather(?)I've since watered pretty heavily. We've gone 11 days without rain and temps hit high 90's for a while. It's really taken a toll on most lawns. So the roots are a mess. I suppose the question is do I just hope for the best or do I remove and start over? This would be the 2nd river birch to not make it in this spot...kind of a bummer to start over...

If we took out one, we'd take out the other. The litter of pine cones from the loblollies beats out anything the sweet gum could produce. The pine cones have sharp little thorns that fall off and make walking in the grass with barefeet impossible. And it's not as though there's a shortage. If it was a more valuable tree, like an oak or a bald cypress, I'd be a lot quicker in getting rid of the sweet gum. These two will just stay there for the moment. Locked in mortal arborial combat. Now I just need to wait for the leaves to fall off the two poor crape myrtles out in the front to share the desecration that was inflicted on them.

I think you have done the right thing and you may well be OK. Here is what I know, or think I know about girdling roots and maples. First, they can be a big problem and are often fatal. That said, every case where I could determine that a girdling root was killing a tree, the girdling root was around the trunk at or above the root flare. If one root circles another root lower down I am not sure it is a problem, but frankly I have never dug up any dead maple to determine if anything like that killed it. But my theory/idea is that any root below the root flare of a trunk that may be locked up with other roots will generally graft with them and not cause a problem. But a root that crosses the trunk of a tree--at or above the root flare--will not, by itself, develop a graft and defeat the strangling. This may be because the kinds of cells above the root flare are different from what is in a root. Or at least there is some incompatability that prevents grafting, it seems. So, if you keep an eye on these trees as they grow, and if as the roots grow and the trunk gets bigger and bigger, you see some root that seems to be at that time close to the trunk at or above the root flare, you can cut it then. Of course if you could do a little more of what you have been doing and discover any more roots that could be a problem later, cut them. Of course, if the root flare is below the soil, remove the soil to expose it. No, definately don't lose any sleep--you are on top of the problem now! Girdling roots seem to kill a number of kinds of trees. Hickories like maples seem susceptible. But my Norway spruce and white pines in my forest stands often have roots crossing and or partially circling the trunks above the root flares, and these trees graft to them and grow right over them and it seems not to hurt the trees at all. --Spruce