A Facebook user came across an unfortunate trend that is taking over the gardening and landscaping scene in their surrounding neighborhoods, despite the harm it brings to plants and trees.
The post by user Suzanne Dooling displays an image of a tree with a massive bed of mulch spread at the bottom over its roots, with several comments posting additional photos of other neighborhoods she has driven by with the same issues.
"As I visited many neighborhoods these last few months, I saw a very sad thing people are doing to trees," the post read. "The mulch volcano is a buildup of much that rises above the root-flare. The root-flare is the point where the trunk and the tree roots meet. It is the foundation strength of the tree and absolutely must be strong."
Experts have warned against the growing commonality of mulch volcanoes as a practice that landscapers are using for neighborhood and residential trees on properties. However, they suffocate the tree roots by preventing proper air flow.
This can quickly lead to disease and tree rot by limiting the flow of nutrients and water to the roots if the mulch is piled up high enough, putting the tree at greater risk of deterioration or even death.
Experts like TikToker Native Habits (@kalebremski) have called out this practice as a scam and dubbed it "a landscaper's favorite tool to steal people's money," since a homeowner is more likely to call back the same company again and again to replace a dead tree while still over-mulching it.
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"I cringe every morning driving by W. T. White High School. They've got fresh mulch a foot up most of the trees," one Facebook user recounted in the comments.
This practice has unfortunately leaked into home gardens as well, with the commonality leading some homeowners to believe that it is just standard practice for building a healthy garden.
However, much like landscaping fabric and artificial turf, just because these practices are standard does not mean they are suitable for your yard.
Instead, the best way to help ensure the health and safety of your yard while saving time and money is to invest in a natural lawn.
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Mowing the lawn 🏡 By rewilding your yard with native plants that are adapted to the local environment, you can save money on water by reducing the need for constant watering, as well as attract local pollinators to help them and the surrounding plants grow.
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