A homeowner's seemingly healthy red maple has become the center of a landscaping debate after they discovered a hidden problem beneath the soil.
Posting to Reddit's r/arborists forum, the homeowner shared that their 15- to 20-year-old tree — now towering about 35 feet — was planted too deep and surrounded by a thick "mulch volcano."
The post includes photos of large girdling roots exposed after the owner pulled back a small section of mulch.
"I only pulled back a small amount of mulch before I saw those two huge girdling roots and then stopped to see what you all think," they wrote. "[The] tree looks otherwise healthy from my naive opinion, though. It probably needs to come down, right?"
Experts in the comments quickly warned about the dangers of this common practice.
"If you don't remove these girdling roots, they will eventually girdle that part of the trunk, which will restrict sap flow," one certified arborist explained.
Others recommended carefully cutting the roots or hiring a professional to prevent further breakage.
Mulch volcanoes — those tall, mounded piles around a tree's base — might look tidy, but they trap moisture, suffocate roots, and invite pests, eventually stressing or even killing trees. They're also expensive, since homeowners waste money on excess mulch while unintentionally harming their landscape investment.
Instead of piling mulch, experts recommend spreading a thin, even layer and exposing the root flare. For an even more eco-friendly upgrade, homeowners can swap high-maintenance turf for native plants, clover, buffalo grass, or xeriscaping. Even a partial lawn replacement can lower water bills, save time on mowing, and create a healthier habitat for pollinators — a win for the ecosystem and our food supply.
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Not enough time ⏳ Redditors were fascinated by the discovery, with one praising the homeowner's "good job pulling back the mulch from the root flare," while admiring the "beautiful, full, symmetrical maple" and encouraging sharing photos as the leaves change this fall.
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