Hard to say, have you tried removing the mulch and some of the soil so you can see what's going on?

Yea the root goes under and not circling around but as that root thickens it might expand into the trunk and harm it no?

Expose more of the root crown and then you'll be able to judge where to cut it. It won't stress it out by cutting.

Yes, there might be more going on under and around than what you can see from above.

Best remove as much soil as is takes before making a decision.

Cutting just what you can see on top might leave more of a problem unseen below.

agree.. go all archeologist on it.. get a stiff brush and hand trowel.. and lets get down 3 or 4 more inches.. and SEE WHATS GOING ON ...

when you presume.. you make a pres out of you and me.. wait.. thats a not right.. i assume.. lol

there would be nothing more stressful.. than strangling itself over the next 10 or 15 years ... we really dont key in on stress.. we fix problems.. and walk away... the plant deals with it ...

and if you do cut it.. just cut one side.. and walk away... let it dry and react.. and come fall or 5 years from now.. you can make the second cut ...

ken

Heruga, I would think, if this was originally a potted plant, and when planted, you untangled the roots and planted it all properly, then the surface root you see might be just an errant rogue that could be cut so it doesn't continue to grow.

.

But, if this was originally in a pot and when planted was rootbound and then stuck directly into a hole with little root work, then most likely, you have more issues further down in the ground.

So good planting practices could make a difference in this case.

Also, keeping wood mulch close to the trunk, especially in wet weather, may allow surface roots to begin their journey along a path that can circle the trunk.

It's already girdling your tree somewhat. Better now than later.

It may be a contributor to the unexplained browning your already seeing.

I hardly ever buy grafted conifers because in my area at least the fact is pretty much all the stock presented to the retail market here is trapped on roots that have been in small pots too long - I fully expect your umbrella pine is going to turn out to be sitting on a hopeless wad of deformed roots. With the circling root you can see now being the tip of an iceberg.

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Uncorrected roots in containers or landscapes will create chronic water stress problems for trees.

If you have failing trees on your own property or on property you manage, you need to do one simple thing before you assume that pests or disease are responsible: you need to determine whether the root system is healthy and functional.

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It looks like the root is going straight down below. So then do I cut it below the soil line and move the root away from the trunk? Or do I just cut the whole piece from the top and be done with it.

Bill I always make sure to tease roots before planting. I repotted this plant first and stayed in a pot for a couple years then planted it in the ground. I know about how bad it is to cover trunk with mulch, I just did it because the surface was always drying out fast in the summer. I plan on scraping it off of it probably this year now that its established and less likely to suffer from dry.

Edit: I ended up cutting it from the top because when I cut it below soil and attempted to redirect the root it kinda snapped. Now it looks somewhat stubby with whats left and I don’t know about removing the rest as its touching the trunk and I cant cut it without damaging the bark

Where's the root flare?

Did you wiggle test it?

Its the piece that looks freshly cut, the one next to the diagonally placed large piece of mulch against the trunk. I wiggled it and it didnt eat into the trunk yet but I can only get so far as its touching the trunk and its a pretty thick piece. Is it crucial to remove that stubby piece indicated by vertical arrow?

no no. I meant Root FLARE.

Right, thats the closest thing I can get to with this tree for the root flare. My tree doesnt have whats shown in your pic. Its got a couple of thick roots on the base and i make sure not to cover that. And before you ask, no I did not plant too deeply, I planted it high and covered the sides of the root ball with soil. Then I realized with the potting mix part of the surface of the rootball exposed, it dried out way too quickly so I covered it lightly with soil so it stays a bit more moist. What else could I have done with the exposed part drying out so fast? Also when this tree first came from the mail(conifer kingdom), there was no rootflare to begin with, top surface of rootball was flat along with tree trunk. So I even went as far as scraping off a little bit of the top surface of the potting media to expose the ’root flare’ a little more but I guess its just how it was grown at the nursery.

You see in the pic some small feeder and big roots are sticking out? Thats the highest I can expose

gotcha! ;-)

If you grab the trunk and put a little force from side to side, which is the 'wiggle test' I mentioned earlier (it's all in the article that Embo linked you to in his last post), it'll tell you if the tree has securely established itself with a healthy root system (You can look it up yourself in the link he posted).

Well, keep us posted on how it all turns out. :-)

For long term health, I'd dig this plant out, find the root flare by washing off all the potting soil/soil that is hiding it, and then replant at the proper level compared to surrounding soils.

If this plant is too deep now, then poor rooting (whether encircling or not) will always be a problem and it is sentenced to a declining life of poor health and eventual failure.

Oh when I tried to shake the tree it slightly wiggled. It wasnt very loose but just a slight movement. Not sure if that means it’s still in the procrss of establishment or its just circling around its rootball. Its second nature to me to always tease roots before planting thogh. If i dig it up and it wasn’t root bound that means I have to wait an additional 2-3 years to establish. Very hard decision… I feel like umbrella pines are not very forgiving when it comes to fidgeting with their root system. Especially if you bare root it I’m very worried it might die from shock. I had this tree since it was a baby less than a foot tall for about 5 years… Anyoen else have experience with umbrella pines?

It should be fine for a season or two, even if it looks like a squirrel's nest underneath the ground.

Just between you and me, it would drive me absolutely nuts not knowing what it looks like. Unless it was a tree I really didn't care about.

Here's a small dwarf 'Picola'.

Planted as a very small 1gal with no root issues.

With the larger ones in landscape pots you can almost be assured of root issues

Alright well maybe I dig this tree up, bare root it and replant it. The ground has never really been frozen this winter, can I do this now in March? It’s not like I’m planting a dormant perennial in wet cold soil, its an evergreen which can still photosynthesize and be active. I’d like for the bare root tree to establish as much as possible before summer heat kicks in and that’s when bare roots suffer

Well it looks like this Spring is going to be a very stressful one. I noticed my diospyros kaki 'Ichikikei Jiro' also doesn't have a rootflare so I dug down an inch to see that it was covered by the potting mix it was in. Yes grafted plants always have rootstock burried idk why they do that. So that means I will have to dig this tree out as well and bareroot it. Do I have to dig out all my trees in my property and bare root it? My japanese maple, and other 4inch square potted tree seedlings were all planted with potting media around them(I made sure to untangle roots) but all have visible rootflares. My persimmon was semi knocked over from the wind a few months ago(in the ground since 2021 spring) so it means it hasn't established. But my other trees are fine with the wind which means they probably established even when it was planted it with potting mix around it. But after looking at embothriums link, I feel like it is totally wrong to plant a tree without removing the potting mix around it.

You're stressing again, Heruga, and worrying about all the 'what ifs' that very likely won't happen. Relax. Do jobs when you feel like it and when the weather is conducive. Just work your way methodically around your trees and check the flares. You might not even need to dig them up. Just pulling the soil back a bit might be enough. Nothing terrible will happen if you let things slide a bit until you get around to it. Spring is meant to be wonderful, not stressful.

Yes grafted plants always have rootstock burried idk why they do that

Who told you you have a grafted plant? Dr. Sidney Waxman perfected UP cutting propagation technique decades ago.

Chill out, the sky is not falling. If you read here that chemicals are turning the frogs gay would you believe it? See my post on Joe Kozey

If you find one that needs to be replanted, could you wait until October to do that?

Floral, Yup I was going to pull the soil back a bit to expose the root flare since its planted very high so scraping off the surrounding soil shouldn't make a crater around the tree. I'm most concerned about my persimmon getting knocked over from the wind despite being in the ground for almost 2 years. Of course I staked it since but could the roots just be circling around the rootball like a squirrel's nest as Bill mentioned? I definitely made sure to tease roots before planting. So not sure why this may be happening. Spring is meant to be wonderful for people with established gardens and mine garden is only 2.5 years old and problems keep arising next after next! I can't wait until another 10 years pass, so I can actually just roam in my garden to enjoy, not do constant work(doesn't count maintenance). I feel like I am on a time bomb if I do need to bareroot my in ground trees, since late winter/early spring is the best time to plant bareroots. Any later and summer kill scorch it to death.

Sam, I purchased the Joe Kozey from conifer kingdom and I specifically spoke with the grower there and he said it was grafted. It was a very young graft, a year or 2 old. The rootflare was definitely covered by the potting soil.

Cecily, according to online sources it says bareroot trees are best planted late winter/early spring. If I do it in october, chances are my bareroots won't have established much before frost and conifers especially will be wind-burned to death.

That surprises me since you're in zone 7a. I'm also in zone 7 and we routinely plant in fall. Good luck with your project.

I totally agree with Cecily. You live in the tropics. When we lived in the tropics, we grew and harvested radishes and lettuce through the winter. I'm not sure the soil ever froze more than an inch or two down.

Even here, you only lose evergreens planted in the fall if we get the wrong kind of winter. So I routinely risk it with good fall sales.

Spring is wonderful whatever the age of your garden. You will never achieve the garden of your fantasy if you expect perfection. Just enjoy the time you have outdoors and be patient.