G'day all...

Steve...

muddy root ball...this could have been caused by poor drainage...soil too
dense.

pie shaped wedges...you should remove the soil from wedge shaped
sections...should NOT cut out a wedge, roots and all.

one sided growth...probably caused by your "pie" slicing...if you cut
through the roots.

For several years I used the "wedge cutting" proceedure, having read somewhere
"...cut out pie shaped sections..."

Undoubtedly, I lost some trees as a result of (pie slicing) messing up the root
systems. Then I heard "...carefully remove the soil from wedge shaped
sections...disturb the roots as little as possible..."

What a difference.

Hope this is helpful...have a good day.

Pat

Dez of the Arizona High Dezert, at 4550', Oracle, AZ,
2000' above Tucson Sunset Zone 10 USDA Zone 8
aka: Pat Patterson 'riding off in all directions'