Of course not! But your tree could be still be suffering from a girdle that’s way too tight.
Girdles can be a death sentence for trees. Instead of growing out, girdling roots grow around the trunk. As the tree trunk gets fatter, the girdling roots tighten and restrict circulation through the cambium layer of the tree.
Now the trouble really begins. Water and nutrients can’t flow easily up from the roots to the canopy and the sugars manufactured in the leaves can’t reach the roots. Over time, the side of the tree with the girdling roots will begin to decline and eventually die.
Mike Chenail, Giroud Arborist, shows us how to spot girdling roots and what to do about them in his video of a young Norway Maple with roots wrapped around its trunk.
Please take a few minutes to check the trees you love for girdling roots. Grounds Maintenance Magazine gives us some great tips on how to check root systems in trees from the newly planted to well-established trees.
You can remove smaller girdling roots using a chisel, pruners or saw. For larger girdling roots, please call us. Roots can grow very close and become embedded in the trunk. If removal is possible, we will do it carefully to protect the trunk and other roots from damage.