While mulching your trees can protect their roots and nourish soil, some gardeners have a concerning tendency to overmulch, causing themselves and their yards more harm than good.
The Maryland nonprofit Neighborhood Design Center (@theneighborhooddesigncenter) shared some of the pitfalls of creating "mulch volcanoes" — that is, suffocating the roots of your trees with too much mulch.
"Basically, a big amount of mulch has been piled up against the trunk. … It will lead to a lot of problems with the root system going in different directions," forest technician Andrés Ovalle explained.
Too much mulch piled in a cone shape forces the structural roots around the base of a tree to grow upward and in other unnatural directions, and it can even lead to moisture buildup, fungus growth, and rot.
Experts informally refer to the phenomenon as mulch volcanoes, a term that stems from the appearance of excessive mulch piled up against a tree.
Though newbie mulchers might be inclined to err on the safe side and overdo their mulching, less can actually be more when it comes to mulch, in terms of quantity as well as quality.
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In fact, grass clippings and home compost can serve as suitable mulch for your trees, so long as you keep the root flares exposed. Mulch around your tree in the shape of a donut, making sure the mulch isn't more than a few inches thick and doesn't touch the bark.
Installing native plants in your yard — by transitioning to a natural lawn or rewilding and letting local species naturally take over — can help keep your garden low-maintenance since they're innately suited to your environment.
Even a partial lawn replacement can help you save time, money, and effort while attracting pollinators and allowing your little ecosystem to thrive.
"Very informative — thank you!" one user commented. "We see this all over, and we're wondering if we should be doing it on our own newly planted tree. Now we won't!"
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"Thank you!" another wrote. "I see this EVERYWHERE, and it drives me nuts!"
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