u/mntplains

I've got this Canadian Red Cherry and I think its buried too deep due to soil sluffing and poor planting. I dug down and found these roots. Some are finer and some seem to be girdling the base.

What do now?

I think i need to carve away the ground around the trunk. Is it OK to cut what seems to be a girdling roots? whats up with the knee protruding?

Also, could this be why the tree is starting off so poorly?

Last year this tree got hit by a late hard frost and looked like this all summer. I was hoping it would rebound this year and fill out, but it's looking meek again. And I notice wilted leaves as if they were hurt by frost but we haven't really been below freezing lately. It maybe hit 32 briefly a couple nights ago, no ice on standing water.

Will this tree be alright? The leaves aren't all the way done coming out, but it doesn't look like a good start to the season.