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What are
Girdling Roots
and How Do
They Affect
Your Trees?
Photo Credit: cultivar413 on Flickr
A tree’s root system carries water and nutrients
to the trunk, branches and leaves.
When a tree struggles, people tend to look only
at the parts visible above the ground.
This makes it easy to miss problems that begin
in the root system.
Girdling roots are ones that grow in a circular
pattern around the trunk.
Photo Credit: Scot Nelson on Flickr
Some develop just above the soil but they also
can be hidden beneath the surface.
If you picture a belt being pulled tight around
your waist, then you have a good idea of what
girdling roots do to a tree.
Photo Credit: Scot Nelson on Flickr
Preventing and treating girdling roots stops
trees from being choked out.
Photo Credit: Scot Nelson on Flickr
Are Certain
Trees More Likely
to Develop
Girdling Roots?
One of the biggest causes of girdling roots
is poor nursery and transplanting practices.
In nurseries, plants can be kept in containers
too long.
With nowhere to go, roots will begin to circle
around the sides of the container.
A similar situation can happen if a tree is
transplanted into a hole that is too small.
Twisting the roots to make them fit into the hole can
encourage them to maintain this growth pattern.
If a planting hole has compacted soil, then the roots
may be unable to stretch outwards. Curling around
in a circle may be the only way that they can grow.
How Does This
Root Problem
Affect the Tree?
Trees struggle to thrive once girdling roots
choke off their supply of nutrients and water.
A tree with these types of roots may have
dying branches and leaves despite receiving
good care.
Eventually, a tree can die off within approximately
five to 15 years from this condition.
Prompt treatment can restore tree health
and bring it back to life.
How Do You
Know If a Tree
Has Girdling
Roots?
A tree with girdling roots will show signs
of general stress.
You might notice that the tree’s leaves
change colors abnormally early in