Which fruit trees are ok with being 'buried'?

[tru]

So with other plants in the garden, if they grow too lanky and fall over you can 'bury' the stem and they'll root higher up giving the plant a lot more support; but I've never heard of anyone doing this with fruit trees. I have an achacha that is starting to fall over and want to just add 2 inches of soil but I don't know my gut says no

Does anyone know if there is a more scientific name of what I'm describing?

[fruitnut1944]

I'd do it on trees that root easily from a cutting. Say figs or grapes. Some apples would be OK esp if young. On your tree I have no idea.

[Galatians522]

Fruit trees that can be burried deep include banana, all palms, and most solanums. I would try pruning to control the lanky growth  before dumping soil around an existing tree. Most tree roots actually need some level of oxygen in the soil. When you dump soil around a tree, it changes the oxygen level in the soil where the roots are (typically, the lower you go the less oxygen there is). Trees that can survive flooding would probably survive this kind of treatment better than trees that need good drainage.

[Vegan Potato Man]

Achachairu need staking if you havent 

[Rispa]

Citrus seem to do it. I'm making a point to bury all mine deep because I'm tired of them dieing to the graft and rooting from the root stock. So far so good

[fruit nerd]

I saw a non-fruit tree the other day that formed an arch with both points in contact with the ground having roots.

[Plantinyum]

Buriung the bases of trees may make them succeptible to armilaria root rot. I have it in my garden, a deep planted apple that i have, that later had more soil added on top of the ground level, got infected and half of the base has rottened, lost several blueberries due to the fungus also my apricot also had a infection. I'm in a process of excavating the root crowns of my fruit trees, its said that exposure to air prevents the fungus from attacking the bases of the trees/plants.
I would suggest to everyone that has armilaria in their soil to not cover the root crown with soil, and to never bury it deep.
Trees in nature most of the time have visible surface roots, there must be a reason for this...

[tru]

I'd do it on trees that root easily from a cutting. Say figs or grapes. Some apples would be OK esp if young. On your tree I have no idea.

makes sense, thanks so much!

Trees in nature most of the time have visible surface roots, there must be a reason for this...

Well the nutrients have to come from somewhere trees do indeed eat dirt

[tru]

I saw a non-fruit tree the other day that formed an arch with both points in contact with the ground having roots.

yeah I tried looking into it more, it seems like "runner" is a scientific name that describes a plant that can root from any node?

Citrus seem to do it. I'm making a point to bury all mine deep because I'm tired of them dieing to the graft and rooting from the root stock. So far so good

This situation sounds too familiar... I hate my lemon tree. No one told me they turn into trifoliate oranges : (

[Plantinyum]

[/quote]

Well the nutrients have to come from somewhere trees do indeed eat dirt

I dont get your comment, i ment that if there wasnt a benefit to plants having their roots shallow with exposed root flares, they would all be like poles sticking from the ground. I dont think that its beneficial in any way to bury trees deeper than theyve naturally sprouted, lack of oxigen is only one of the  reasons that should be enough for a grower to not do this.
I know that i will be planting everithing from now on with partially exposed bases.


[/quote]

yeah I tried looking into it more, it seems like "runner" is a scientific name that describes a plant that can root from any node?


A runner is a plant that has the ability to produce sprouts from its roots. It "runs" as it can expand via producing new identical plants away from the mother plant.

[Plantinyum]

Well the nutrients have to come from somewhere trees do indeed eat dirt

I dont get your comment, i ment that if there wasnt a benefit to plants having their roots shallow with exposed root flares, they would all be like poles sticking from the ground. I dont think that its beneficial in any way to bury trees deeper than theyve naturally sprouted, lack of oxigen is only one of the  reasons that should be enough for a grower to not do this.
I know that i will be planting everithing from now on with partially exposed bases.
There should be exceptions to this though, one at the top of my head would be willow species, as they often grow in muck with low oxygen levels.

[/quote]

yeah I tried looking into it more, it seems like "runner" is a scientific name that describes a plant that can root from any node?


A runner is a plant that has the ability to produce sprouts from its roots. It "runs" as it can expand via producing new identical plants away from the mother plant.
[/quote]

[tru]

gotcha yeah, not a runner lol mb! hmm.

also my comment about exposed tree roots is that they were once not exposed, ate the earth until they grew out of the ground. All the roots that move that dirt around don't just move it around, they suck it up and turn it into bark leaves fruit etc.

It's not a dramatic change sure, but generally speaking any organic matter in your soil is gonna become part of the plant one day and the space it leaves behind is gonna get filled in one way or another.

That's why I think mulching is so productive; your plant isn't wasting resources to go search for more organic matter further and further away from the trunk

[tru]

update: they are called "adventitious roots"!

[Plantinyum]

gotcha yeah, not a runner lol mb! hmm.

also my comment about exposed tree roots is that they were once not exposed, ate the earth until they grew out of the ground. All the roots that move that dirt around don't just move it around, they suck it up and turn it into bark leaves fruit etc.

It's not a dramatic change sure, but generally speaking any organic matter in your soil is gonna become part of the plant one day and the space it leaves behind is gonna get filled in one way or another.

That's why I think mulching is so productive; your plant isn't wasting resources to go search for more organic matter further and further away from the trunk

Yeah i also thought about the root thing, like as they grow and thicken they move up trough the soil and displace it, there are factors like soil copmaction over time also, lest say it is a complex question, i am solely looking into it as a benefit regarding armillaria desease, as there are multiple studies that show that exposed roots are much less likely to get the infection. Armillaria tends to attack the bases of plants/trees and its growth is said to be discouraged by the presence of air, all the trees i had the infection on were planted too deep . As an example ,in a infested by the fungus blueberry patch the only two plants that were never bothered by it were the two that had the soil at their bases washed off. Those had perfectly healthy roots and grew and produced great , the other 5 plants all had several sm of mulch that buried their stems, all were infected and with just a few live roots.

All i want to say to everyone is just use coution when planting deep and just know what could happen..i didnt had an idea and now i harvest the consequences.  Also never bury any tipe of wood , i had alot of pine wood into the soil, buried below the blueberries, it was INFESTED with the fungus.

[mangoba]

Figs can cope with being buried extremely well. If they feel that the deepest roots are having problems, they would just send new ones from somewhere closer the surface.

[tru]

Yeah i also thought about the root thing, like as they grow and thicken they move up trough the soil and displace it, there are factors like soil copmaction over time also, lest say it is a complex question, i am solely looking into it as a benefit regarding armillaria desease, as there are multiple studies that show that exposed roots are much less likely to get the infection. Armillaria tends to attack the bases of plants/trees and its growth is said to be discouraged by the presence of air, all the trees i had the infection on were planted too deep . As an example ,in a infested by the fungus blueberry patch the only two plants that were never bothered by it were the two that had the soil at their bases washed off. Those had perfectly healthy roots and grew and produced great , the other 5 plants all had several sm of mulch that buried their stems, all were infected and with just a few live roots.

All i want to say to everyone is just use coution when planting deep and just know what could happen..i didnt had an idea and now i harvest the consequences.  Also never bury any tipe of wood , i had alot of pine wood into the soil, buried below the blueberries, it was INFESTED with the fungus.

gotcha, I think I've heard mulching around the tree but not the base called 'spotting' before? Not sure google doesn't help me with that; that sounds tragic though. And yeah you're totally right it is complex idk I was just being a little snarky I guess 

Yeah ficus in general are built like tanks! I have a rubber tree and that thing is an unstoppable force. Swear it drinks 5x the water compared to the other trees too

[sapote]

Pomegranate cuttings root easily in water and soil, but mature tree will die if the old trunk is covered with soil.
Longan seems to be ok so far in my yard with new high soil.

[Thebessmyt]

Just wanna add that adding soil to the base of a tree like your achacha could potentially cause issues like rot or disease, as most fruit trees are sensitive to changes in soil depth around their trunks. Your gut instinct to hesitate is probably spot-on.
If your achacha tree is struggling with stability, it might be worth looking into staking or other forms of support rather than burying part of the trunk in soil. Also, consider checking its overall health; sometimes, instability can be a sign of root or other issues.
For specific advice tailored to your situation, consulting an arborist could be really valuable. I found this tree-doctor-houston.com site that offers a lot of useful information and services that could help you diagnose and treat any issues your tree may have.

[mangoba]

Just wanna add that adding soil to the base of a tree like your achacha could potentially cause issues like rot or disease, as most fruit trees are sensitive to changes in soil depth around their trunks. Your gut instinct to hesitate is probably spot-on.
If your achacha tree is struggling with stability, it might be worth looking into staking or other forms of support rather than burying part of the trunk in soil. Also, consider checking its overall health; sometimes, instability can be a sign of root or other issues.
For specific advice tailored to your situation, consulting an arborist could be really valuable. I found this tree-doctor-houston.com site that offers a lot of useful information and services that could help you diagnose and treat any issues your tree may have.

AI is making bots worse.

[Epicatt2]

If I (and 'I' only -not AI, thankyouverymuch) were going to raise the soil around the base of a tree
I would do so in very small increments and over time, giving the tree plenty of time to acclimate to
each new level of soil build-up.

JM2¢worth . . .

Paul M.
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