Root Flare Exposure for Homeowners

[@sc000ter000]

Man oh man, this is excellent information! Will work on exposing the flair tomorrow.... VERY GOOD VIDEO, thank you so much.

[@zennoodle]

I found the Dirt Doctor from an artcle featured in Dallas Morning News. I'll have to scour the site some more but this is excellent information! I would love to spend time in my yard to make things look and feel great. Thanks for the tip!

[@HeidiYoung227]

Very helpful demonstration. Thank you Howard.

[@chrisoanderson]

Thanks Howard. I also use a hose to blast the soil out. then let it dry slightly and remove the dirt with brushes and blower.

[@ForAllAnimals]

Great idea, thanks for sharing

[@maryboehme420]

Very helpful video, thank you!!

[@Networkprofessor]

Man. Trees need so much TLC.

[@stijn3951]

"Be very careful you don't damage the flare." - proceeds to stab at the flare with knife

[@klmoll]

He knows what he’s doing. Most lay people don’t. Thus the video. He’s extremely knowledgeable, I’ve followed him for decades. 😊

[@calebwillhelm2635]

He doesn’t hit the flair. It takes a shit load of root flair/collars to be able to do this

[@thaideemaewcattery3140]

Great! Thank you!

[@imagineadventureswithjs8303]

Nice demo! I have a question though. I started exposing more flare on my mature Chinese Pistache and I ended up scratching some of the trunk and flare with my tools. Should I be concerned about the damage? What can I do to mitigate? Thanks.

[@klmoll]

Just curious, how’s the tree doing!

[@shafqatakmal7677]

I planted a 2 year old mango tree. The roots are very young and there is no visible Root flare. It is from a graft. Is this normal. When will the root flare develop?

[@mrjon75]

Thanks Doc. Do you have a video on removing circling and girdling roots?

[@Noneya777]

If you dig out 1 foot to 1.5 feet, how do you transition that back into the landscape?

[@pozzee2809]

I never knew this, my poor trees 😢

[@gocarlisle]

What, if anything, do you do about the grass growing back to the exposed roots?

[@chrisfunk7430]

Wow, thank you for this valuable information! I never would have surmised that this would even be a problem. Now I know why my Pecan tree has done so poorly these last few years. I’m in Austin, so I’m not sure how the weather is in your part of Texas, but I wanted ask you about the incredibly hot summers we’ve been having. Do you think the extreme heat is also affecting my pecan tree? It’s just not producing at all anymore, and I’m hoping that when I expose the root flare that will change things but I’m also curious as to if it’s a extreme heat that’s causing the problem as well. Thank you.

[@ForAllAnimals]

Thank you so much for this!

[@well-elle]

Amazing tips. Thanks for sharing this!

[@debbiealexander34]

Thank you so much ❤

[@nathanb181]

4:46 Looks like the new A-Team is on the case!

[@beuller7]

Awesome catch 😂😂😂

[@DrZaiusDrZaius-xp5fw]

thanks doc

[@digsindirt4490]

Thank you for the video. Do we leave the area exposed or should we cover it with a shallow layer of mulch to help maintain soil moisture?

[@dougsheldon2750]

You can add mulch on the bare soil, but not on the roots and leave away from the trunk. See Tree Planting Series 1-4 in the DirtDoctor.com Library: www.dirtdoctor.com/dirtdoctor-library?letter=T

[@TheSoloAsylum]

Exposing the roof flair so it can be dry like it's supposed to be is the whole point. Mulching it back would only keep it wet.

[@thenigeriatypernointernets4922]

Weed

[@maryanne.8624]

how about pulling the grass out by hand?

[@klmoll]

Great! Is probably the least harshest.

[@bergziv9819]

Can I use water stream to expose the root flare?

[@advancekashmir9846]

I guess, that'd be fine.

[@klmoll]

I’m only replying for future readers. Not heavily. Your goal is not leave the root flare super wet. So do it judiciously. Try to take time, over a period of days.

[@jaystubbs1355]

Do you mulch after?

[@klmoll]

No! That’s exactly what you don’t want. If you like pine straw, that’s okay if it is done very lightly.

[@jaystubbs1355]

@@klmoll I always heard that you should mulch to kill the grass at the dripline. That way the water goes to the tree instead of grass. And leave 3 inches of space around the trunk where mulch doesn't touch. This is what I do.

[@calebwillhelm2635]

No you should put mulch back.