Hey guys!

So I am very very new to this and am learning every step of the way but I have a question about something I noticed.

So I plucked two tiny maple trees from the alley which leads to my yard. The ground there is very hard and compact and has had moss growing on it for years. It is also an area which gets somewhat limited light, due to the fact that it is a narrow alley between mine and my neighbor's house.

What I noticed is that both trees were growing oddly, in that the trunk appeared to grow horizontally and then vertically and surface roots appeared to be coming off of the trunk in a way I never really noticed happening to other trees. I am really hoping some awesome nebari develop because of this. Anyway, here are some pics.





I just added that moss this morning, so yes I know it looks dry, it is going to rain today and I live in a swamp so it's always nice and humid here lol. It went from hot as hell here in the North East USA to 60F/15.5C in less than 1 week. I figured since these trees are literally just starting out there is a good chance I will lose them this winter, hopefully this moss will help insulate them a bit.

At the end of the day, I'm wondering if growing in very compact soil added with the lighting in the alley actually encourages this type of growth and if this is a technique or something. After so many years of being moist and packed it is almost a clay like consistency.