u/chulioso

I bought a potted emperor 1 Japanese maple. Roughly 8-9’ tall. Ready to plant it. I used my fingers and an air duster to find the root flare, which was about 3” below the soil level (to no ones surprise here I’m sure).
There are a ton of fine roots that aren’t coming off the buried trunk, but grew upwards from the roots below. What should I do with those upper roots? Cut them? Leave them to “air prune”, or try to straighten and push them down as best as I can just below the real grade as I plant it?
Thank you! This sub is so helpful!