Tree mulching

Is there any reason to mulch trees? I don't like the pile it makes, I just want grass to grow up to my tree. Is there reasoning behind it and can it be substituted?

 

the main reason to mulch around the tree is to protect the trunk (and high roots) against the mower and string trimmer. If you damage the bark of the tree from either equipment, you open up (literally) the tree to insects and disease. That said, piling mulch up more than 3-4 inches, especially right around the trunk, is just as bad.

 

Not only do you open up the tree to insects and diseases, you can kill the tree if you cut the bark all around the tree, which then stops the flow of nutrients from the roots to the leaves. A tree's arteries, for lack of a better term in this discussion, are located just under the bark and can be easily damaged by mowing and string trimmers.

That said, piling mulch as 3 to 4 inches (I've actually seen it higher on some properties), can sufficate a tree, as the tree does need some open air space around the base of the tree. The preferred method of mulching a tree is to mound around the tree for about 6 to 12 inches, with a cup or well created around the base.

We're currently worried about a Japanese maple in our backyard, that was 'girdled' by rabbits this winter. There's enough bark left that the tree looks healthy this summer, and it may have been able to repair the problems itself, but this winter we're putting chicken wire around the base to keep the critter's off.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

There was an article in the Broadlands Newsletter last June regarding the proper method of mulching, reasons for it etc. Go to http://www.hoa.broadlands.org/newsletter/2005/06.pdf and scroll down to page 31. The research for this article came from the Loudoun County Extension Office, The VA Dept of Forestry, and master gardeners literature.