add a pic in a reply.. seems to work better for gizmo peeps ...

big city location never hurts also ..

ken

Dig down around the base of the trunk to see if you can find the root flare.

tj

Agree. Looks to be planted too deep.

Dig by hand, so you don't damage the bark. :-)

Remember these things grow in swamps. Burying them too deep isn't likely to bother them much! Funny thing is that they can take drought too. I think that it has something to do with their roots not needing much oxygen, but my memory is hazy on this.

Of course, this last bit of information would nullify my previous comment about the root flare being too deep, so please disregard. ;-)

Bill I get so manic about root flares that sometimes I find myself trying to find one on a rosebush...

I dug with my hands around the base to see how deep it is. It's about 3-4 inches until that flare on the right. Soo, should I just fill it back it and let it be?

Yes, no point is going through all the trouble of raising the tree if it's not necessary, that's a big job. Apparently some trees just aren't that fussy about how they go in the ground.

I would follow the advice, previously mentioned, about keeping the wood mulch a few inches away from the trunk. The amount of mulch would differ according to your climate, which you haven't told us. The colder the winter, the thicker you want the mulch for winter. Summer it's okay with an inch or two, just to keep the sun from heating things up but in cold areas, 3-4" would not be over doing it, going into winter.

One would want to see the root flare at least to determine root-girdling. Bestany, you might want to expose even more, gently. I've used water and a toothbrush to avoid damage.

i would not refill it with soil ... just push mulch back into the hole ... leaving that little gap i spoke of ... no mulch directly on the tree ... we dont count the mulch in determining soil grade ...

imo.. its within tolerance of specs .... ive done a lot worse .. lol ... potential problems if it were many more inches below grade ...

i wonder what it looked like before any mulch was put on top ... it looks.. and its very hard from these pix.. that the whole ball might have been a bit above lawn grade.. which is just fine .... but if the ball were all shaved off.. and dont do that ... would the flare be at lawn grade ...

in bad clay ... there is a theory of planting the whole plant above grade ... and maybe they favored such a bit ...

to repeat.. i think they did a pretty good job.. dont screw it up ... just learn to water properly ...

ken

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 It is deeper than lawn grade. I tried to put that handle across at the lawn level (pushed the mulch aside). I definitely don't want to screw it up. I will be trying the drainage test you linked to previously.

I can also comment generally about the trees planted by the village. Quite a few young trees have been planted in recent years after so many were cleared from Ash borers. I haven't noticed young trees that have died, fwiw. I do see lots of middle-age maples with girdled roots (once you learn what girdling is, you see it everywhere, sadly!). I don't know if girdling is risk for Nyssa sylvatica, but I'm of course interested in making sure the tree can live well into later years.

Bestany this tree can grow in standing water. Don't worry about drainage.

girdling is usually caused by a tree being grown too long in a pot.. and the roots just go round and round. .. like the wheels on a bus ...

you fix that at planting by doing root surgery with a dormant tree ... so the roots will expand out into the soil ... and not continue to get on the bus ...

just forget about that ... if it happens in 50 years.. will you really care ... lol

if you really decide you need to do something.. you could make a one or two brick tree well around it .. but im not even sure thats necessary .. again.. this thing is not 6 or 8 inches too deep ... when this thing is 30 t0 50 feet tall. do you think this couple inches is going to matter ...

my usual caution is try not to love your plants to death.. and all this talk seems to be making you worry in excess .. and again.. im not sure it necessary ...

just learn how to water properly for your soil... and you should be all set ...

ken

scroll down an look at the pix with the ring below surface .. rather than above ... this is just to show you the problem is fixable.. if in the future we decide there actually is a problem ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=brick+tree+well+ring&t=ffnt&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Worry in excess? Me?! LOL

Thank you for the reassurance, Sara and Ken.

I can't wait to see how it looks when it leafs out, and then what it does for fall color. I've read that this species is variable with the fall color, so it'll be fun to see what it does.

I have plans to add other trees in my yard in the coming weeks, which I'm very excited about. I'll be able to see the tree company doing the work this time. You might see more posts from me :) .