u/Sufficient_Warning80

We recently moved into a new place and the previous owners were definitely Japanese Maple heads. I have ten in the yard of different variety and am trying to take care of them the best I can. I’ve gone through most of them for a quick trim and today dug out and exposed the root flares on all of them. I’m a beginner and a bit overwhelmed but also eager to learn how best to care for these beautiful creatures. Any advice on good literature, people to look up, or help with identification would be much appreciated.

The pictures show the canopy and trunk for all except two.

- UPDATE - I filled in the lower roots up to the root flare as everyone here recommended. Glad I dug them out as I was able to asses the health of the roots as well as save literally every single tree from being girdled by being buried too deep. Most were buried a couple inches deep, the worst being this lace maple that had its root flare five inches under compacted soil.

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