Walked through a new housing development last week and saw something that bothered me

I was checking out a new neighborhood going up near Greenville and noticed they planted maybe 40 maple trees along the main road. Every single one had the root flare buried under at least 4 inches of soil and mulch. I talked to one of the landscapers on site and he said the builder just told them to make it look nice and level. Has anyone else run into this problem with new construction work and how do you even start a conversation about it without sounding like you're lecturing them?

3 comments

3 Comments

milam481mo ago

Did you happen to notice if they left any of the plastic tags on the trunks too...

the_elliot1mo ago

Wait, aren't those tags supposed to stay on until you get the tree home and set up? That's like buying a new shirt and cutting the tags off before you even try it on. I always leave mine on because it proves the tree is fresh from the lot and not some recycled thing they've had sitting around for weeks. Plus, if you change your mind or find a better one, you can't return it if the tags are already ripped off. Maybe I'm just overly cautious but I'd rather keep the plastic on until I'm 100% sure.

the_thea1mo ago

My last tree had the tags still on and I didn't notice until I was decorating it and my kid asked why the trunk had a barcode. @milam48 that's exactly the kind of detail I'd miss until it's way too late, honestly I'm lucky I even remember to water the thing.