A: I appreciate you bringing me clippings of the tree. It was especially important to bring in limbs with living leaves still attached. It is often difficult to determine the cause of a problem if the only material I see is totally dead. I was unable to locate any disease or insect damage so the next thing to do is look at the root area. In several recent instances I have found the same damage you described and discovered girdling roots at the base of the tree. A girdling root is similar to having a tourniquet wrapped around your arm. What will eventually happen to your hand if the tourniquet is left in place for a long period of time? Your hand would have the blood supply cut off and the limb would be lost. The same thing can happen to a tree branch if a girdling root is allowed to grow around another tree root.

We recently planted fourteen new trees at the James S. Pages Governmental Complex and every one of these new trees had some degree of girdling and circling roots – from mild to severe. It is important to examine the root ball of any tree or shrub you plant. Remove those girdling or circling roots before you plant. Remove the top layer of soil and root mass so you can examine the root structure carefully. In your situation, the plant has been in the ground for several years but it is still important to remove any roots growing into another root. Cut the girdling root just above where it starts to grow over the other root. You may need to use loppers to make a clean cut. Do not add any amendments to the soil – no black cow or fertilizer. Just be sure the plant is well irrigated for a few weeks to help get it through the shock of losing a major source of water. Keep lawn grass as far away from the roots as possible. Be sure the mulch is not too deep – only about 2-3 inches. Never allow mulch to be piled up around the trunk tissue, which can provide the perfect environment for disease. Allow 18 – 24 inches area around the trunk of the tree or shrub which should contain nothing but soil and air.

The above photo demonstrates what can happen if the girdling root is allowed to get too large. Girdling and circling roots are probably one of the more important causes for failure in newly planted trees. For more complete information regarding removal of girdling roots please check out the UF/IFAS Environmental Horticulture website: http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/removecircling.shtml

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