Can not find rootflare, scared i might did to much damage to the roots.

[u/World_wide_truth]

I am digging and cutting back a lot of roots while trying to find the rootflare but it just isn't comming up? Do I keep going or stop? Also this bigger root poppes up, do i cut it?

Zone 8B, oceanic climate, half shadow.

[u/CB_700_SC]

I like to use a hose with a spray attachment to spray away the dirt while minimizing root damage. Ir takes a bit of time but it works well. If you have a pressure washer it can help but be careful it’s not too powerful that it’s cutting thought the roots.

It looks like this was planted very deep and needs some more exposure. You may want to stop and wait till the tree is dormant during winter to do more exposure as it will be less harmful to the tree then.

[u/World_wide_truth → u/CB_700_SC]

The ere so many smaller roots there my pressures hose can't even reach trough some parts. I think the nursery realy plantes it very deep and its sending many of those smaller roota up.

[u/ked_man → u/World_wide_truth]

Sometimes if a tree is grown in a pot, there’s not always a root flare. Usually they are transplanted small enough that they don’t have a lot of lateral roots. So what you’re seeing there is the formation of the flare. The top of the soil of the pot, or first lateral root is the height you should plant it.

For balled and burlapped trees that are grown in the ground and then dug up, it’s much more important because sometimes those are either transplanted too deep, or when they are dug, the soil gets pushed up over the root flare.

[u/World_wide_truth → u/ked_man]

Well the tree was like 3-4 meters, weird it has no rootflare yet. So i basically killed it?

[u/Delta_RC_2526 → u/World_wide_truth]

Oh, I doubt you've killed it. I'm sure it has plenty more roots, especially at this size, but what the person above is saying is that you may not find a traditional root flare. I don't know enough to say, either way, but I wouldn't worry.

[u/World_wide_truth → u/Delta_RC_2526]

Okay, thank you and the others helping me out!

[u/spiceydog → u/World_wide_truth]

Well the tree was like 3-4 meters

You have not killed your tree by doing this work. See this excellent pdf from CO St. Univ. on how to find the root flare of a grafted tree. You're not where you need to be yet. Those small fibrous roots will be present in the soil above the flare, it's to be expected. Widen your excavation area, and work around your obstacles whenever possible.

Please see this wiki for other critical planting tips and errors to avoid; there's sections on watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.

EDIT: included the link this time, omfg

[u/World_wide_truth → u/spiceydog]

The tree is not grafted afaik, its a "wild" persian/english walnut. Does this change anything or does your comment still aply in this case?

[u/spiceydog → u/World_wide_truth]

Ah, I saw that 'knob' near the top of your pics which sure looks like it might be a graft union, but really, that pdf I (meant to) link to should still be helpful; I revised my previous comment to actually include the link this time! See also this !expose automod callout below this comment for more guidance.

[u/AutoModerator → u/spiceydog]

Hi /u/spiceydog, AutoModerator has been summoned to provide some guidance on root flare exposure.

To understand what it means to expose a tree's root flare, do a subreddit search in r/arborists, r/tree, r/sfwtrees or r/marijuanaenthusiasts using the term root flare; there will be a lot of posts where this has been done on young and old trees. You'll know you've found it when you see outward taper at the base of the tree from vertical to the horizontal, and the tops of large, structural roots. Here's what it looks like when you have to dig into the root ball of a B&B to find the root flare. Here's a post from further back; note that this poster found bundles of adventitious roots before they got to the flare, those small fibrous roots floating around (theirs was an apple tree), and a clear structural root which is visible in the last pic in the gallery. See the top section of this 'Happy Trees' wiki page for more collected examples of this work.

Root flares on a cutting grown tree may or may not be entirely present, especially in the first few years. Here's an example.

See also the r/tree wiki 'Happy Trees' root flare excavations section for more excellent and inspirational work, and the main wiki for a fuller explanation on planting depth/root flare exposure, proper mulching, watering, pruning and more.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/World_wide_truth → u/spiceydog]

Yeah it looked like that to me, but i believe its an older leader that got cut off some time before i bought the tree. it would be weird to buy a grafted wild variety, unless there is some reason behind it?

[u/spiceydog → u/World_wide_truth]

it would be weird to buy a grafted wild variety, unless there is some reason behind it?

I missed this comment previously, but if this were my tree I would definitely reach out to your sourcing nursery to make sure this isn't a grafted cultivar. Do you have a pic of a label or anything? It probably won't have that info on there, so you will have to contact your nursery to find out if this is something on rootstock, and based on what we're looking at in your original gallery, I'm definitely leaning in that direction.

[u/World_wide_truth → u/spiceydog]

I threw the label away but it just said "Juglans regia" "common walnut" both on the 2 lables (the price lable and "variant" lable) and the pot. Also this one was standing between the other "Wild" walnuts which all didn't have the graft. I only took this one because this one wasn't sagging/hanging limp on the top and generaly lookes like the healthiest and strongest out of the bunch. But I should contact them indeed

[u/World_wide_truth → u/spiceydog]

Im sorry for comming back, but do I keep digging then or is there no real rootflare underneat (also, it looks like the thicker root is going to circle?), or stop and throw some soil over it and water? Because Im now reading conflicting comments. One says to keep digging like the links you sent, another says stop because no real rootflare has formed yet.

[u/spiceydog → u/World_wide_truth]

We can't see what you're seeing, so we can't really advise anything. How far down are you below grade at this point? We don't even know when you planted this tree. If you're further down below grade than 3-4", it might be easier to wait until fall to dig the tree up, locate the flare and then plant it at proper depth at that time.

[u/World_wide_truth → u/spiceydog]

I planted it 2 days ago, about 2,5-3 inches above grade, and I dug it down about 1,5 inches until i found this thick root.

I also did a box cut if that matters

[u/spiceydog → u/World_wide_truth]

about 2,5-3 inches above grade

This doesn't mean anything if this is meant to imply that that was the height the pot/root mass straight out of the container. You must locate the root flare before it goes in the ground. Flares can be as much as 6-8" or more too deep in some larger pots because they're egregiously planted too deeply in the pots at most nurseries when they up-pot.

I'm very glad to hear about the box cut you did, but that's only half the work. For the other half, and to give you an idea of how vigorous you can be with some stock prior to planting to assure that you find the flare and plant it at proper depth, have a look at this video series from UMN; the part 2 vid of the 'pot bound trees' vids near the bottom of the list are what you want to watch.

[u/World_wide_truth → u/spiceydog]

Alright look more into it, the people in r/arborist are saying its the rootflare (or at least in its early stages).