notice how the base of the tree flares out at ground level.
This is a telephone pole:
notice how it does not flare, but goes straight down into the ground.Although it is not obvious on first glance,
this is not a telephone pole.This also is not a telephone pole.
Why do people think trees should look like telephone poles?Another mystery to me is why people started making mulch volcanoes. I had thought it was just a problem here in Chicagoland, but then, when I was in South Florida I saw this:
yes, it's a Palm tree volcano. While no man is an island, this poor tree clearly is.
Am I just being picky, or does anyone actually think this looks good? Aesthetics aside, mulch volcanoes and turning trees into telephone poles by planting them too deeply or raising the grade damage trees. These practices lead to surface girdling roots. This is a mild example of what a surface girdling root looks like.
When it surrounds a tree trunk, a surface girdling root can strangle a tree, causing its death.
But volcanoes and telephone poling aren't the only forms of tree abuse. This is a whole new level of wrong:
landscape fabric and rocks. This poor tree is drowning and suffocating (and probably strangling as well).
And then there is the other extreme, the tree surrounded by lawn.
Unlike this poor Palm tree, most trees are denizens of the forest. (I know, that seems a bit obvious, but too many people miss the point.) It is not good for trees to be grown in a lawn with the grass right up to the trunk. The most obvious problem is that the tree becomes an obstacle which must be mowed around, and too often, the mower takes a hunk out of the tree trunk, or the weedwhacker takes a whack, injuring the tree.
It definitely isn't a pretty sight. Trees also do better when they don't have to compete with grass.
This is a happy tree. 
It is not suffocating under a mound of mulch or buried too deeply. It coexists with the groundcover surrounding it and looks natural and healthy. What is so hard to get about this? Is it asking too much to stop the abuse of trees? Don't even get me started on tree topping.
36 comments:
Sadly, I have a tree ring planted with snap dragons. I know it is wrong, but I just couldn't stop myself. I am so ashamed.
Hi MMD,
I didn't know you had lost your gnome! If I had known, I would have picked a new one up for you when I was at Big Lots last weekend! :-)
What a great educational post on tree abuse! You're so right... those roots need room and space to breathe and shouldn't be treated like telephone/power poles! (Is that how the trees talk about things... you know, like sending an old horse to the "glue factory" do they talk about being sent to the "power pole factory?")
Some trees seem to have their own defense mechanisms though ... we can't get anything (other than weeds) to grow under our spruce, and the noxious qualities of black walnuts are well known... And thanks to the evil tree rats, we have those coming up every year, thanks to our neighbor's trees across the street!
À chacun(e) sa frustration!
I so agree with you! The other thing I hate is mulch piled high on the outer edges and then nothing next to the tree. A word about tree topping. Where I live, it's considered a must to have your tree topeed when they reach a certain height-these older Germans don't believe in letting a tree do it's own thing. Or how about the power compainies and their tree abourists? Hubby calls them tree 'abortionists! we complained to the power company once and they told us they used professionals to do their trimming. If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell....! Great post-lots of fun.
Interesting post. Never put a whole lot of thought into this. Maybe I will have a look around my yard and see what my tree trunks are having to live with.
I suspect the mulch volcanoes are a nationwide problem. One of the speakers at the seminar I attended this week mentioned mulch volcanoes. He even had a graph regarding mulch depth and how it corresponds to tree health.
My favorite sight in this neighborhood is the 4 foot newly planted tree in a giant volcano of mulch...I have long ago stopped telling the neighbors. They must think it looks good! A dear friend who is a fantastic gardener can't stop herself from mulching the landscape at her house...she loves neat looking gardens...mine must give her a headache.
I have to second Beckie and spouse's tree abuse by city arborist. Our city hires an arborist to mark the trees; they aren't around when the trimming crew arrives. This past fall I had to hire my own profession to make sure the city didn't destroy the trees.
Gail
I also don't like to see trees growing up in little cut outs in the sidewalks, or with a little fence around them. Poor trees...
We have some mulch volcanos on our block.
A friend of the Lawn Man's put a big border of paving blocks about 3' tall around one of his trees along the driveway a couple of years ago, and I wondered what his plan was. Last summer I overheard the Lawn Man on the phone with him, and gathered that his friend had just filled up his new border with a truckload of soil, topping it off with several inches of mulch. He was very pleased with himself and proud of his hard work.
I almost resisted, but couldn't in the end, and interrupted their conversation. The net result was his friend removing the truckload of soil with a shovel and wheelbarrow. I was amazed that he buried his tree to begin with, and even more amazed at the backbreaking work he did to save it.
I'm guilty of tree abuse - hanging baskets in the silver maples. In my defense, the hooks have been here for many years, even before the Lawn Man bought the place, and I watch them carefully to make sure they don't get imbedded, loosening up the screws every year or two. Besides, I hate silver maples even if I love the shade.
I know that when our local nursery is hired to plant a tree, they dig a big hole, plant the tree, backfill and top with a ring of mulch. Well... I let it go because I don't want to mess with what they're doing. With my sister's tree, I planted bulbs and flowers in that ring!
I love the term 'mulch volcano'. Not really noticed it over here much...yet.
Lots of good info and things to consider,MMD! When we planted an apple tree in our school garden, we were instructed to plant it in a fashion that looks very much like your tree that is an "island." Something about the water moat getting all the roots properly watered. There must be a better way.
I think those nasty squirrels have gotten your dander up, MMD:) Seriously, thanks for all the helpful information. Our trees and the few shrubs we have were all planted by my in-laws before we ever moved here. My father-in-law apparently hated pulling more weeds than he had to, so he surrounded everything he could with pea gravel. I've been digging up rocks ever since we moved in:)
Many of the trees, though, have their own defense mechanisms, as IVG said--the shade has prevented any grass from growing beneath them, so the roots can stretch happily.
Mulch volcanoes. What a wonderful depiction. Cheesehead insisted on getting a few of those tree rings for our front yard because he had trouble mowing close enough to them.
Aunt Debbi - don't feel bad about your Snapdragons. I'm sure they won't bother the tree, and I promise I won't say anything about them.
IVG - we lost our Big Lots too. (I was quite broken up about it for a while.) Fortunately for me, the tree rats here eat the walnuts before leaving the shells lying about the garden.
Beckie - the power company tree manglers (I certainly can't call them trimmers) provide enough fodder for a separate rant. I have power lines along the back of my garden, and I live in dread of the day (or 3) when those chainsaw wielders descend.
Darla - this is one of my pet peeves. Once your start looking, you start seeing this stuff everywhere.
Cindy - volcanoes in Texas too? I would love to see that chart. I bet it's an eye opener.
Gail - please take a photo of the 4 ft mulch mess. There's nothing wrong with neat and tidy mulch - in moderation!
I've tried hiring my own arborists to deal with the trees by the power lines, but they refuse to touch them and call in the powercompany's tree manglers.
Carol - ah, yes, the cemented in place trees. I forgot about them.
Garden Girl - good for you for speaking up & even better for your neighbor for listening. As for your own "abuse," it's excused. They are Silver Maples after all. They're only a step above Box Elders.
Shady - I hope the nursery people know what they're doing. A ring of mulch is good, as long as it's not piled up around the trunk or is more than 4 inches deep. Bulbs are great for planting under trees, as they tuck so easily between the roots.
HM - I would expect the British gardening public to know better. I hope you never have to witness a mulch volcano in your neighborhood.
JGH - a bit of a moat is supposed to be helpful for new trees, but not when the mulch is piled on that thickly and up against the trunk. And the moat should be removed before winter.
Rose - I bet gravel makes a decent mulch, as long as it's not on top of landscape fabric or plastic. I wish I dug up rocks, but all I seem to dig up is chunks of concrete.
Cinj - tree rings do serve a purpose, as long as the grade around the tree is not raised.
I've never seen a mulch volcano but I have seen many a tree with grass growing right up to the trunk. I agree..hard to understand what they might be thinking.
The Renegade Gardener has a similar rant. It's in his Don't DO That archves.
Like everyone else, I just think it's awful. You can mulch around them without making them look unnatural. It's also detrimental to the tree. Sheesh.~~Dee
What a fun post (although we oughta report some of these peeps to the society for prevention of tree cruelty!) Mulch volcanoes is brilliant, MMD. Thanks for making this post!
Maybe it's just different in different parts of the country but what you call mulch volcanoes are pretty common in Austin. And they have to be. Because we're in our 18th month of drought. But when it rains again we're just as likely to get 4 inches in one day. When you get more than 50 days of 100 degree heat in a summer and no rain, you take mulch pretty seriously.
So we plant our trees on raised mounds. And yes. We mulch the hell out of them. Here's a link to Peckerwood Gardens which is renowned for its tree research. Notice that all the seedling trees are treated the same way.
The only tree in our yard has a raised bed around it that my father-in-law had put in. I imagine it's too late to remove it, because the dirt has been there for over 12 years.
I don't have room for more trees, but have thought I should learn more about them.
Hi MMcD and thank you for an interesting post. I agree totally and sometimes when I see those trees covered with mulch I almost want to start to dig, save them from suffocation. I have notice that my 100 years old apple trees are much healthier when I’ve removed the grass around them. Listen to this, I bet you think I’ve totally crazy now, I brush them! With a rough/coarse brush to remove the moss on the stem and branches.
Very nice blog you have here.
Tyra
Before I knew that mulching high around trees wasn't good for them, we built a deck around a large oak tree, leaving a space for planting of hostas. All wrong! However, the large oak has done very well (it's likely over 200 years old) and the hostas have done well, too. Probably the age of the tree has something to do with it. We do now notice that the tree is causing the deck to slant downward to the outer edges. It's probably the roots and tree in general, growing.
I convinced my husband to dig out further around the trees in our yard and mulch, rather than have grass, because I heard on a gardening show on TV that they do better when they don't have grass around them (like you said).
Lots of good info here, MMD!
Ah, yes. The dreaded bleepity bleep mulch mountains, or as you put it, volcanoes. But volcanos erupt! Maybe we should from the tree volcano liberation society, freeing trees and spreading mulch as we go. Or something.
We have people in this town dedicated to the mulch volcanoes, and I just want to stop and go into the businesses that own the trees and ask them why they hate their trees and are trying to kill them. I already have a reputation for being weird and disturbing, though. I'm not sure I want to enhance it.
Leslie - I'm so relieved to know that there are no mulch volcanoes in Davis!
Kathy - I also like the Renegade Gardener's tree ring photos.
Dee - it's like vitamins, more isn't necessarily better.
Jodi - I wish I could take credit for coining the term, but it's a commonly used phrase around here. (Which is really sad, when you think about it.)
MSS - it's interesting how differently you have to do things in Austin. The poor little saplings need so much coddling. I love the canopy over that one.
Sue - after 12 years, if the tree is still doing fine, it would probably do more harm to remove the soil.
Hi, Tyra, thanks for visiting! It's obvious that you love trees. To paraphrase the line from "The Truth About Cats and Dogs," you can love your trees, just don't LOVE your trees. ;^D
Kylee - you're lucky that Oak hasn't toppled the deck yet. How lucky you are to have such a mature one!
Monica - if trees were easier to dig up...
HMH - I'd encourage you to do so, if I thought it would do any good.
MMD, you have hit on one of my favorite pet peeves. I've even thought about printing pamphlets to leave around town. Unfortunately volcano mulching seems to be the preferred method by people in the landscraping industry who really ought to know better. Gah!
Kris - where do these landscape industry people get this idea? Is this taught in schools somewhere?
I can't figure it out - poor tree care (especially volcano mulching and ridonculous pruning) is raved and ranted against at every educational seminar I attend...
It seems that the people in responsible aren't attending these seminars. Makes you want to bonk them over the head.
LOL--I wasn't suggesting liberating the trees by literally freeing them, more exploding the mulch all over the lawn instead.
Great post. I had wonderful mature trees in Alabama and never considered mulching them, and I don't think most people I know did either. For some reason where I live now just about everyone mulches their trees. I do too. Hmmm...
Monica - "liberating trees" always reminds me of that scene in "Harold & Maude" where they liberate a tree and return it to the forest.
Robin - I think it's that new subdivision syndrome that leads to too much mulching. The new trees look so fragile, that they get too much coddling.
The people at a park here were wondering why several of the crabapple trees were dieing. Ha. They weed eat the trunks so that they are nearly cut in half. I tried to tell them. They don't listen. They must be wacked. Sigh.I have also mentioned to the powers that be about the mulch volcanes. They put all their money into trees then slowly kill them with mulch and weed wackers.
Lisa - it's so frustrating trying to get people to listen on this subject. Makes you want to run screaming.
"mulch volcano" - what a hilarious and perfect term for these monstrosities! I don't have any mulch around my mature trees. I did throw some pinestraw around the base of the gingko when I planted it, but that was mostly to create a safety zone so my husband wouldn't mow over it!
Ginger - mulch volcanoes are an example of a good idea gone badly awry. I do mulch my trees, I just don't bury them with it.
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