One homeowner was unhappy to find that their homeowners association had made a potentially lethal decision about several of the trees in their neighborhood.

The homeowner posted about the situation on the r/arborists subreddit. "HOA thought maintaining the mulch was too much work," they said, adding two photos of trees that had been subjected to a shortsighted landscaping decision.

The trees in the photos are surrounded by huge piles of gravel extending 4 to 5 feet outward from the trunks and reaching 1 to 2 feet deep at the center. The stone fully covers each tree's root flare and a significant portion of the trunk.

"I'm not an expert but I'd love some other opinions on whether this is gonna save money with the landscapers or not," the original poster said. "For context there are 4 other trees just like this on the communal areas, they are (to the best of my knowledge) Basswood trees. One of them has already been fighting the good fight against some pretty extensive beetle damage from a few years back, so I'm a little worried being buried in 1-2ft of gravel is going to do it no favors."

This approach seems to be a variation on the "mulch volcano," a bad landscaping practice that kills trees by burying their trunks and root flares in excessive mulch. The mulch keeps the root flare from the air exposure that it needs, traps moisture in a way that introduces rot and pests, and encourages roots to grow tightly around the trunk in search of nutrients, which creates a root girdle that strangles the tree.

Taking the same approach with stone would introduce a slightly different set of problems. Root girdling is unlikely to be a factor, but the root flare is still being smothered, some moisture might still be trapped, and the stone will also get hot in the sun, potentially baking the lower trunk and roots of the tree.

Commenters agreed that this was an extremely poor decision.

"It's doing the opposite of favors," one user said, who was identified as an ISA Certified Arborist.

"Get in touch with an arborist to attend a board meeting," another user suggested. "I've had success setting community trees up for success, and it starts with education. You don't know what you don't know."

Indeed, many HOAs have been caught making damaging choices for trees in their care, but some have been corrected with the right education from residents. Working with your HOA to change the rules can make a huge difference.

Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden? Yes 💯 Only if it impacts your neighbors 🏘️ Depends on what you're growing 🌼 Heck no 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.