Tree Stories Part II

We know that living in high, dry Colorado that using mulch around plantings helps conserve moisture, keep weeds down (and easier to pull if not using landscape fabric) and provides a finished look to the garden. I'm in the pro-mulch camp.  

When it comes to trees and tree care there are additional reasons to love mulch. Tree roots are more vigorous than grass roots and in the end will win. So just lean in, use mulch around trees, forget trying to grow grass close to trees.

Keeping lawn trimmers away from trunks is healthy tree growing 101. Your newly planted trees will thank you for using a wide, 2-4 inch deep mulch ring to help keep foot traffic away while it is getting established. 

Also, keep the mulch away from touching the trunk so that moisture isn't constantly in contact with the trunk.

I see lots of mulch no-nos on my daily walks with Ferris.

I'm beyond words on this mulch job. Rock kibble is much too hot to use in this location (it's west facing, near the street), it's too thick, not the correct mulch type in this situation and it's right up against the trunk. Why, why, why???? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This volcano mulch is, in a word - horrific. And the tree wrap isn't any better. Do you actually think new tree roots will get any air and moisture from this thick catastrophe? 

Ferris is intrigued and confused at this out of place hill of mulch in the tree lawn.

I'll give some points to this homeowner for trying. Unfortunately there are some errors. The edging looks new and could harm the tree roots from the pounding at installation. The ring isn't large enough for the size of the tree and it's too close to the trunk. The thickness is good and looks finished.

I'm not a fan of weed fabric in general. We have weed fabric under the rock pebble in the dog run and under the crusher pebbles surrounding the raised beds. The foot traffic in these areas keep weeds down and ones that make it through are quick to spot and pull. I touched on weed fabric in a previous blog, click here to read.

What is this homeowner's end game? I assume the river rock is taking the place of any turf that was growing. There probably wasn't much grass anyway, but that's a guess since I don't have a before picture. 

Adding all this new weight in river rocks may not be the best idea for this tree and the fabric just adds another layer preventing air and moisture getting through to tree roots in this limited tree lawn space. We can argue that some weed fabric brands breathe and allow water and air, to pass down to roots. However, I challenge you to remove any weed fabric after a year or more from any location and dig around in the soil underneath. It will be very lifeless, compacted and unhappy.

Excellent Follow-up Tree Resources from recent blogs - Tree Stories Part I and II - 

Tree Straps

Stem Girdling Roots

Tree Planting No-Nos!

Mulch: More than Just a Pretty Face

No Seeds, No Weeds (weed fabric is mentioned) 

The Myth of Landscape Fabric

Sunscald of Trees 

 

Tree Stories Part 1

When walking around my neighborhood and nearby park with Ferris on cold winter days I find enjoyment staring and studying leafless trees. A bare tree has a story to tell. Even the bark has something to say.

A tree's life story can be anywhere from happy to kind of sad.

Many of the trees I come upon are fine specimens, real beauties. It's obvious that someone planted them correctly and spent time with hands on care as they grew up.

When you think about it, growing a tree is a lifetime commitment. It's pretty much like raising a person, sans the crying, unless the tree develops cankers or other obvious owies which in my eyes look like a tree in tears.

Healthy trees always get an extra smile and "atta tree" when I walk by. These trees often share the characteristics from the list below.

• Branches are spaced and growing evenly around the trunk.
• Branches are mostly distributed in the upper 2/3s of the tree.
• The tree has only have one central, dominant leader unless it's growing as a clump form.
• Looking at the base trunk of the tree, it should gradually be more slender toward the top of the tree. 
• Correctly planted trees should have a visible basal trunk flare. The opposite of not having a flare would be a tree that grows out the ground looking like a perfectly straight telephone pole.
• Healthy trunks have no oozing (including cankers), trunk wounds from lawn mowers or exit holes from pest insects.
  
• A great looking mulch ring around the tree should be wide around the trunk but not up against the trunk. 
• Remember, tree roots will always win out over grass roots in time which means the grass will die or die out in areas. Mulch rings are the way to go.
  

Here are two tree stories, please come back for more in the next blog.

I. When you look at the tree below does it make you sad, angry or perhaps you're indifferent? I walk by this tree almost every afternoon. It's not far from the owner's house and in my opinion it would be hard to ignore. The straps should have been removed six months to possibly a year after it was planted (less time is better unless it is located in a very windy location). 

There are several owies on this tree that could have easily been avoided by an observant home owner. The straps will be difficult if not impossible to remove. The wounds caused by the straps are areas that insects or disease can access. The damage that remains when the straps are removed will be visible for the life of the tree.   

 

 

  

II. The basal flare shown below is very noticeable on the tree, the mulch ring is adequate. What's with the thick visible roots showing?

Most trees are planted too deeply where the basal flare isn't apparent at all. In this case, the tree roots are visible due to improper planting with the basal flare being too high. It should have been planted to just where the flare is evident from the rest of the tree as in the diagram below.   

What I'd do with this particular tree is snip off the two sucker branches and refresh the mulch, adding no more than a couple of inches in depth to protect the visible roots. 

The mulch ring can easily be widened another foot or two or more. 

Never cut out or bury visible roots with too much added soil or mulch.

                                         photo from Daily Journal, Kankakee, IL