There are many common mistakes amateur and professional landscapers make that ultimately harm the plants and trees they are trying to nurture. One such mistake is surrounding a tree with the dreaded mulch volcano.
An amateur gardener recently took to the subreddit r/arborists to ask the online community for advice on how to best help a tree on his property after removing mulch.


The post is titled: "Removed a foot of mulch… now what?"
The poster included a picture of a tree with massive exposed roots and explained: "I didn't remove dirt, just mulch… I suspect they had been surrounded by mulch volcanoes at some point… What's my best course of action?"
Some landscapers choose to cover tree roots with mounds of mulch, a design known as "mulch volcanoes." Unfortunately, this practice is not only expensive but can also be extremely detrimental to the trees.
Mulch volcanoes can lead to decay in the tree bark. The mulch can also dehydrate tree roots and prevent other important nutrients from reaching the tree. It can also cause "tree stress," which can make the tree more susceptible to pests.
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Mulch volcanoes are only one of many common landscaping mistakes. Some homeowners who have used chemical pesticides to deal with weeds have found that this has caused other problems to the plants and trees they were hoping would flourish. Others have dealt with the disastrous effects of landscaping fabric, including the growth of stubborn bindweed.
One surefire way to avoid these problems is to rewild your yard. Having natural plants in your yard comes with a whole host of benefits. For one, it saves you money. Natural plants don't require nearly as much water, which lowers your utility bills. They also don't require the expensive upkeep that traditional lawns do.
Natural lawns are also great for the environment. They attract pollinators, the tiny insects and birds that keep ecosystems flourishing. It is estimated that pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat.
There are many attractive options when it comes to rewilding your lawn, including clover, buffalo grass, and xeriscaping. Incredibly, even a partial lawn replacement will reap substantial benefits.
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If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
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Commenters on the post were adamant about leaving the tree alone.
One Reddit user said: "Your job is done now. These roots are cool as they are."
"These roots want to be exposed. Leave them be," another added.
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