Spotting buried root flares in every other backyard job

Kai Butler · 2026-03-05T10:16:09.886403+00:00

In my experience, I see a lot of trees in newer neighborhoods planted too deep. The root flare is often covered with extra soil and mulch, which hurts the tree over time. This makes the trees weaker and more likely to get damaged in bad weather. Homeowners usually call me when the tree already looks sick.

charlesj467mo ago

See root flares above soil in most backyard jobs I handle.

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lewis.diana7mo ago

Exactly, @charlesj46, buried flares kill trees slowly.

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piper_green7mo ago

Disagree with the whole buried root flare panic (seriously, it's overblown). Trees can deal with some extra soil, and in dry spots, it might even help roots stay wet. I've seen lots of trees do fine even when planted too deep, no big storms hurting them. Homeowners calling for sick trees might have other problems, like bad watering or bugs, not just the root flare. Sometimes that extra mulch just looks neat and people like it (even if it's not great for the tree).

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