Well you're on the right track.
I'd consider this a stressed tree and as always would recommend the full sick tree treatment. It's posted at the top of this forum, but let's review, since it's been a while since I placed the whole thing in a reply. It sounds like you've done step 1. That's good. In your case it wasn't so much planted too low, but rather got buried after the fact. Start with #2.
1) REMOVE EXCESS SOIL FROM ABOVE ROOT BALL. A very high percentage of trees have been planted too low. Soil on top of the root ball smothers the tree and leads to circling and girdling roots. Soil, or even heavy mulch, on trunks keeps the bark constantly moist which can rot or girdle the tree.
2) AERATE THE ROOT ZONE HEAVILY. Start between the drip line and the trunk and go far out beyond the drip line. A 7-12" depth of the aeration holes is ideal but any depth is beneficial. An alternative is to spray the root zone with a living organism product or bio-stimulant.
3) APPLY TEXAS GREENSAND at about 40-80 lbs./1,000 sq. ft., LAVA SAND at about 40-80 lbs./1,000 sq. ft., HORTICULTURAL CORNMEAL at about 10-20 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. and sugar or dry molasses at about 5 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. Cornmeal is a natural disease fighter and sugar is a carbon source to feed the microbes in the soil.
4) APPLY A 1" LAYER OF COMPOST followed by a 3-5" layer of shredded native tree trimmings. Native cedar is the best source for mulch. In turf use a 1" layer of horticultural cedar flakes.
5) SPRAY FOLIAGE AND SOIL MONTHLY OR MORE OFTEN IF POSSIBLE WITH GARRETT JUICE (see formula below.) For large-scale farms and ranches, a one-time spraying is beneficial if the budget doesn?t allow ongoing sprays. Adding garlic tea to the spray is also beneficial while the tree is in trouble.
6) STOP USING HIGH NITROGEN FERTILIZERS AND TOXIC CHEMICAL PESTICIDES. Pesticides kill the beneficial nematodes and insects. Fake fertilizers are destructive to the chemistry, the structure and the life in the soil.
All these things taken together can rehabilitate the Soil as well as the root zone of the tree. For you, #2 would be very important, considering recent activity on the site.
_________________ Shepherd of the Trees
It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields we know so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.
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