 And then the next thing is pull the soil away from the base of the tree if it's too deep in the ground. If it's coming out of the ground like you stuck a post in the ground, it's way too deep in the ground. You need to pull the soil away. Have an arborist do it. If you've got a lot of trees or big trees, doing it with an air spade is the best thing to do if the budget allows that.