An eye-opening Instagram video revealed a common mistake that could be costing you a fortune and slowly killing your trees: burying newly planted trees in massive mounds of mulch.
In a video posted by Middlesex Tree (@middlesex_tree), the camera panned as the narrator spoke in disbelief.
"How not to plant trees," he began, giving viewers a visual to accompany the knowledge he was about to drop.
In the post's caption, the creator laid out their frustration with a purportedly "professional" job.
"What's wrong here? Planted too deep? Volcano mulch much? Where's the root flare? Can the bottoms of those trunks breathe? How long do you expect these poor river birch to last like this? They said they hired a professional. I guess only time will tell," they wrote.
The technique depicted is known as a "mulch volcano," a costly and often deadly mistake for trees. Mulch volcanoes entail stacking a pile of mulch in a conical shape, depriving the tree of nutrients and jeopardizing its health.
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In a comment, the original poster highlighted another visible issue.
"These root balls were just plopped on the ground, packed with dirt around them, still in burlap and mesh, and then finished with the volcano mulch job," they observed.
Piling mulch against a tree's trunk traps moisture, causing rot. Unfortunately, the practice has become so common that it's a joke online, with one Reddit user sarcastically asking if an asphalt-encased tree was mulched correctly.
Thankfully, the fix is easy, as one expert on TikTok advised: "Think doughnut and not volcano."
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Nicely cut grass 😎 A thin layer of mulch is great for suppressing weeds, and mulching wisely will save potentially hefty remediation costs, which can range from $2,000 to $15,000 or more for a large tree.
Instead of spending a fortune on mulch for a traditional landscape, homeowners can save significant time and money on maintenance by upgrading to a natural lawn. Rewilding your yard is another popular, eco-friendly approach.
Instagram commenters were as aggrieved by the mulch monstrosity as the original poster.
"The famous mulch volcano," one remarked.
Another agreed with the original poster's assessment of the apparently sloppy work.
"Looks like someone didn't wanna dig a hole so they put [a] root ball and all on top of the ground and threw some mulch around them! WOW," they replied.
"When will nurseries stop selling cluster birches[?] Doomed to fail," a third lamented.
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