A homeowner recently turned to Reddit for advice after discovering an unflattering landscaping "gift" from their former tenants. The photo shows a tree surrounded by a rubber ring, stuffed with a mound of mulch that commenters immediately recognized as a classic mulch volcano.
Posting to r/landscaping, the user captioned the photo: "My old renters made this tree ring but I honestly hate it — it's a weird lopsided egg shape, the edging is blah… what should I do? Keep it? Remove it? Somehow fix it with stones and make it round? Help."
The image shows an excessive pile of mulch around the tree's base, prompting an avalanche of opinions from the community.
Experts agree that mulch volcanoes — where mulch is piled high around the base of a tree — can trap moisture, encourage rot, attract pests, and even eventually kill the tree. Dead trees can be an expensive hassle for homeowners, and losing perfectly healthy trees hurts the local ecosystem.
Beyond being bad for the tree, mulch volcanoes are also a waste of time and money since that much mulch isn't even needed to keep soil moist. A thin, even layer spread flat around the base of the tree (without touching the trunk) works best for water retention and weed control.
For homeowners looking to refresh their yards, there are plenty of low-maintenance alternatives to risky landscaping techniques. Upgrading to a natural lawn using native plants, clover, or even eco-friendly methods like xeriscaping can save homeowners money on utility bills and gardening supplies, while also cutting down on yardwork. Rewilding your yard with native plants also creates a healthier ecosystem for pollinators, which is crucial for protecting our food supply.
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Commenters didn't hold back.
"Yes please remove the border, pull the mulch back and distribute it in a ring shape around the tree or else eventually the tree will die," one user warned.
Others encouraged the poster to remove the rubber edging and excess mulch entirely. "Just rip up the edge, rake it out, and add grass seed," one said. "This bed is unnecessary, and makes cutting the grass without getting any in the mulch much harder for no reason."
A third chimed in, saying, "No rings, no stone."
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