DON’T MAKE THIS MULCH MISTAKE

Written By Mark Neal

Everyone loves to spread mulch around trees. But there’s a right way and a wrong way. Don’t spread it or let your landscapers spread it like the photo below. This is volcano mulching. It frustrates anyone who cares about trees, but unfortunately it continues to be a common practice. And they take more time to make and cost more money in mulch. So please talk to your landscapers if they spread mulch this way.

VOLCANO MULCHING

HERE’S WHY VOLCANO MULCHING IS A MULCH MONSTROSITY

  • Holds moisture against the trunk, creating the ideal atmostphere for fungal disease and decay

  • Root dehydration: interferes with oxygen reaching tree root cells. Trees respond by growing roots into the mulch pile. And when the mulch erodes, it exposes these roots which can then become dehydrated.

  • Mulch piles eventually dry out, repelling water and causing root dehydration

  • The roots growing into the mulch pile reach the volcano slopes, which forces them to turn and begin circling the tree, leading to girdling roots which essentially choke the tree as they merge with the trunk

  • Creates the ideal place for pests and rodents to burrow into. They then chew on the bark, damaging the tree.

  • Can be a slow death for the tree. These things are not immediately seen and occur over time.

See what it looks like when the mulch erodes away in the photo below. Yikes! Here you can see everything we’ve described above that happens inside a volcano mulch pile.

INSIDE THE MULCH VOLCANO

IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO IF MY TREES HAVE BEEN VOLCANO MULCHED?

Yes! But it’s time to act quickly. If you wait to long, the tree may decline beyond the point of saving. If your trees have been mulched this way for many years, the damage might be too much to try to save the tree. Is there dieback in the crown? Is the bark coming off? Is there decay or signs of fungal infection? Ask your friendly shepherd of the forest to evaluate. So here are the steps:

  • Remove the volcano mulch

  • If there are girdling roots and they are small enough, they should be cut out little by little over time

  • Remulch the tree properly, as described below

SO HOW DO I SPREAD MULCH CORRECTLY?

Done properly, mulch is actually a good thing. It provides nutrients for the soil as it decays. It moderates soil temperature, preserves soil moisture, and keeps the weeds down. Not to mention that it looks good! So here’s the scoop:

  • Spread mulch evenly around the tree 2-3 inches deep

  • Keep it a few inches away from the trunk to keep the trunk flare exposed (this is the place where the bottom of the turnk widens out to become roots underground)

MULCH DONE RIGHT!

Mark Neal