Root Girdling
Trees and other plants can potentially harm themselves with irregular root growth. This usually happens when specimens are planted to close to an obstruction (concrete foundation) or had been initially grown in a container. When roots are forced to grow in a contained space they will grow in a circlular pattern. To help avoid these problems people must first put a lot of thought into plant location. Also, if the plant was started in a container the roots must be pruned to stop the circular growth pattern.