Hi all, it's my first time posting here but I've been getting more connected to nature and want to expand my current understanding.
I am in North Texas, and there are lots of Crape Myrtle trees planted in the area. I was on a walk today and came across one that had what looked like a huge pile of dirt accumulated between all the branches, trapped in the center. Upon reflection, I'm realizing it might have been composted leaves/debris, but my concern was that it was quite moist and I worried that this isn't good for the bark/overall tree health.
I scooped out the big pile of dirt/compost, and was surprised to find that the tree had grown a bunch of tiny white roots into the pile, and the root mass was quite extensive towards the bottom. I found it remarkable that the tree adapted like this, and it made me wonder if perhaps the tree was quite able to deal with this sort of thing and maybe I shouldn't have intervened at all. The little roots are currently exposed, as seen in the pic (which was after removing about 6 inches of the dirt; I left a small layer on the bottom because the roots were dense enough that I would've had to rip them, and I already had accidentally ripped quite a bit, before realizing they were actually growing from the tree and not a separate plant.
What are your thoughts on this? Should I have just left it alone? Thanks for reading, excited to hear what y'all have to say :)