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Collar girdling

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25 Oct, 2024

Collar girdling

This happens when trees are transplanted into bags at the infancy stage into a soil mix and then twisted to force the roots into the soil. Trees cannot untwist their roots. The roots will begin to radiate away from the stem, but the damage has already been done and these roots will be wrapped around the stem forever. As the tree grows the roots thicken effectively choking the tree by restricting the flow of sap up the stem.

Poor nursery propagation practices can create collar girdling, so always buy your trees from a reputable supplier. Girdling can often be easily identified with a quick visual check on the growing medium surface. If you suspect there is an issue very careful mild excavation by hand may be needed to get better visibility.  If the roots are small you may be able to tease them out, or sometimes you may have to remove some of the really bad ones.

We can see girdling on older trees and there are ways to try and remedy the issue by carefully exposing the roots and cutting the offending roots where possible. There are risks of course that the wound site becomes an entry point for pathogens but it might be worth giving it a try to save a loved tree. There is no need to remove the root, just severe it, and it will slowly rot over time in situ.