Mulch volcanoes not going away
The new client I wrote about in my August 5 blog post liked his new bed edges and tree wells. When his father asked me about installing mulch, I told him yes, absolutely. Mulch keeps weeds down, assuming you don’t go too light (at least 2″), and it keeps moisture in. It also looks good.
When I pulled up roughly a week later to cut his lawn, the mulch was already down and the beds looked good. But there was one problem with the install; something I see all the time.
The mulch was installed like a volcano, which is a problem for the tree. Here’s why.
Volcanoes kill
Where the tree trunk turns into root is the root flare zone. There shouldn’t be any mulch or soil above this zone because the plant tissues aren’t adapted to soil conditions. As moisture builds up inside the mulch volcano, the bark gets wet which can lead to rot in the wood. Disease can also enter.
Left intact, the volcano can stimulate the growth of adventitious roots from the bark. As these roots mature, they can girdle the tree.
What you need to do
Definitely add mulch to your tree wells but shoot for the donut look. That’s what I told my client and then showed him how to do it.
There shouldn’t be any mulch above the root flare; moving out from the tree there is a nice layer of mulch which tapers down to the lawn edge. Thus the donut look. Here’s what it looks like.
Happy tree!
Life should be good for your tree from now on, assuming it gets watered. The mulch keeps weeds down and moisture in; and the tree well keeps lawn care workers away from the bark. As already mentioned in my August 5 blog post, without a tree well or plastic guard, machines inevitably damage the bark. This leads to stress, slower growth and potentially death.
Mulched tree wells also look good! Just remember to shoot for the donut look. Never make mulch volcanoes.
