Root Crown Excavation and Root Flare Examination

How our Root Crown Excavation Process Works for Bay Area Trees

All root crown excavation work starts with identifying the location of the root flare, and determining how much soil must be removed to re-establish the correct soil gradient. This would be the ideal soil level for the particular tree when it was a juvenile, forming its first roots.

After the correct gradient is determined, I create a safe work zone, installing debris bariers and relocating fragile landscape components where needed. This work gets messy and we want to prepare the area for what comes next.

Next, I connect an air knife (aka air spade) to my extra large ourput compressor and begin removing soil carefully around the tree trunk. The compressed air is channeled through the air spade at supersonic speeds and literally blasts the soil away from the root zone. This is a process that is tough on compacted soil, but harmelss to the tree’s roots!

Finally I work with hand tools to carefully cut away circling roots as well as advantitious roots that may have grown in the raised soil level. I carefully examine the bark and wood of the root flare to locate signs of infection or decay.

Lastly, I make a prescription for onging treehealth care to mitigate the effects of the burried root flare. I may apply micronutrients, root-stimulating sil amendments, fungicides and compost. We educate our client on after-care of the tree and we follow up semi-annually or as needed to help the tree on it’s way to recovery.

Circling girdling roots cut off tree's sap flow and can cause dree decline.
A circling root constricts the tree’s own sap flow and can lead to major helath issues or even trunk failure. It is important that circling roots are henadled with care early in the tree’s life. Zach’s Root Crown Excavation and Inspection will help find and fix these sort of defects using an air spade and chisel.