Remove it or keep it

This is the nebari of the japanese maple. I like the aggressive, claw like section of the nebari but as you can see it is on top of other nebari. The question for all you IBC'ers is keep it or get rid or it?

keep it. IMHO

Love and light

I would remove it, but I really like a nice uniform root flare unless there is a reason that the rest of the tree supports. This appears to be an upright tree that one would expect to find in a meadow so the roots would be nice and uniform.

Actually Marty that makes perfect sense. I'll double check when I repot it but that sounds like my new plan but referencing the posts above, would you not be afraid of the big scar?

The scar will heal and disappear into the root flare, particularly if you grow the tree in a shallow pot. I a variety of growing pots that are about 1.5" (4 cm) deep and often 12 - 15" (30 - 40 cm) across. When combined with removal of the roots that grow downwards when repotting this results in the development of good flare is a few years.