I've recently discovered that I might be burying the root flares of my plants, and it's unsettling because I always thought that could damage them. I've got a couple of questions around this: I've got a two-year-old peach tree in a whiskey barrel where the roots are completely covered. Is it too late to unearth them to save the tree? Also, I just fertilized my orange and two lemon trees. Is it possible to uncover their roots without messing up the fertilization? Lastly, do I need to check my grapevine, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries? They all got fertilized too, except for the grapevine. I can't believe I was unaware of this root flare issue until now!
2 Answers
Yes, you definitely want to excavate the root flare on your peach tree if you can. Trees tend to thrive better and live longer when their root flares aren't buried. As for your fertilized orange and lemon trees, you can carefully move the dirt away or even repot them, but keep an eye on their roots and be gentle during the process. You shouldn't need to re-fertilize if you do it right! As for your berries, they typically don't require unearthing like the trees do, so you can leave them as they are.
Excavating the root flare is especially crucial for trees; it helps them develop a stronger structure. You can go ahead and uncover your lemon and orange trees if they're fertilized—just be cautious to keep as much of the dirt as possible! Regarding your berries and grapevine, they usually don’t have issues with their root flares, so you're fine leaving them be. You weren’t the only one unaware of this; many gardeners learn it the hard way!