I’ve pulled back the mulch and the piece of black plastic below it and found completely dry, compacted clay soil. Watered it well and dug to expose the root flare. No before pic, but you can see how high the soil was. I’m not sure how much of the roots to keep exposed or if I can cut off all those small roots or not. The removed mulch was a mess of cross-crossed small roots. On the last pic, what about the big hole in the trunk? Is that going to be a problem? Any pointers greatly appreciated!
by Independent_Meat5795