While visiting a new client's home, one landscaper was horrified to see the state of one of their trees.
After being wrapped in suffocating burlap and landscaping fabric, it had been tied up and was being slowly strangled by a nylon rope.
Fortunately, she arrived in time to save it from what's sure to have been a grim fate.
Professional garden coach Amy Powers (@powers_plants) shared a video explaining the many mistakes that her client's former landscaper had made.
"Absolutely never use landscape fabric, especially wrapped around the root ball of a tree," she emphasized. "And don't allow any type of rope, including biodegradable rope, to be left tied around the trunk of the tree after planting."
Addressing the burlap first, Amy explained: "There's an argument that this is biodegradable, but I want nothing between the roots and the soil where a tree or a plant needs to grow."
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The rope was even worse. Being completely synthetic, it was set to remain the same size even as the tree grew; indeed, she showed that it had already begun to cut into the tree, with bark beginning to grow around it.
And finally, she emphasized that landscaping fabric — which this landscaper had buried around the tree's roots— was never a good idea.
"The roots are going to suffer trying to grow through that," she explained, "and so is the water trying to get through it."
Commenters were amazed at just how many mistakes the previous landscaper had made.
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Mowing the lawn 🏡 "It amazes me how many 'professional landscapers' have no clue how to plant a tree," one person vented.
"I've made some mistakes while planting trees, but all of that is pretty ridiculous," another agreed.
Instead, Amy explained, she planned to cut the rope off, remove the burlap and fabric, and spread a thin layer of mulch in a donut around the tree.
Importantly, she pointed out that she would not pile up the mulch in an infamous "mulch volcano" — a high mound against the base of a tree, which suffocates the roots and can lead to rot.
"That is flat out tree abuse," one person commented. "I'm glad you rescued it!"
In addition to keeping a yard free of fabric and mulch volcanoes, one of the best ways to ensure a healthy, thriving yard is to rewild it with native or noninvasive plants. These varieties require far less water and maintenance, making them easier and more affordable to maintain, and they also support a healthy ecosystem for pollinators and animals — which means a healthier environment for all.
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