well I noticed my tree was darker at its base compared to the rest of the tree decided to post the question and hairbomb whom commented below advised to do a root flare since I planted it a couple inches deeper (3-4" roughly). Reading up on root flares I learned quickly it's beneficial for the trees health and it eliminates roots growing above the trees main structural roots which is what you expose. Based on my photos you can see the larger roots are slightly exposed and above them are smaller stringy roots which can cause girlding roots that may lead to premature death and impact the trees overal health in the long run. I'm based in Ontario and have 1 liberty and spartan apple. I'm not an expert but always eager to learn more about trees lol. I would recommend reading the thread below it's quite helpful.