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 Probably too late to save this tree. |
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CULTURAL PRACTICES: MULCHING WRONG!!!!! |
Mulching is the practice of applying a ground cover to the area under and around trees and landscape plants. This covering comes in a wide array of materials from natural bark mulch and stone to synthetic materials made of rubber and shredded tires. Each type of mulch has its advantages and disadvantages and should be carefully considered before application. Natural mulch such as hardwood bark mulch, pine bark mulch or pine needle straw all have their place in the landscape. When we consider natural mulch the idea is to recreate the natural forest floor environment. Take a walk through an undisturbed forest and look at the ground under your feet and you will see a layer of decaying organic material dominated by fallen leaf litter. This leaf litter falls each autumn and will decay over the next year releasing stored nutrients back into the soil to nourish the plants. This process continues year after year and the total volume of leaf accumulation does not increase because it is efficiently decomposed by micro organisms such as fungi and bacterial and by an impressive array of macro organisms such as worms and insects. This forest floor ecosystem works very well and provides a continuous supply of needed nutrient for the forest. Good natural mulching of organic material such as leaf litter or bark mulch, if properly applied, will recreate this same environment for your landscape. It is vital, however, to use this material in the proper way. Mulch should be applied to a total depth of no more than three inches, the trunks of all plants must be kept clear of mulch, no mulch volcanoes please, and the root area of the plant should be covered to as great a distance from the trunk as is practical or aesthetically pleasing. |
| Be vey careful with annual application of new mulch, you should begin by loosening the old mulch and spreading it out in the mulched bed, this will help prevent matting of the material and promote decay, you may also find you need little or no new mulch to gain the effect you are after. If you should need to add mulch, add only what is required to bring the level back to the two to three inch level and no more. We often see where two inches are added each year and the level of accumulation reaches eight to ten inches which can be detrimental to the plant. Turning and lightly coloring with a thin layer of new mulch is often all that is needed to maintain the look you want. Stone and gravel make good choices for mulching as they provide a color and texture option which can be effectively used in the landscape. Stone also has the advantage of not breaking down over time, you do not have to regularly replace stone as you do with natural mulches. On the down side, stone mulch will not suppress weeds, retain moisture nor add organic material to the soil. Often a landscapefabric will be applied to the soil prior to thestone to reduce weed growth and for |
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| moisture retention; however weeds may still germinate and grow on top of the fabric so weeding may still be an issue. Care should be taken to maintain separation of the landscape fabric and the plant as some plants may grow into and over the fabric causing trunk and root problems for the plant. | |
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Improper mulching can lead to a number of potentially deadly problems for trees and landscape plants. We often see trees in decline caused by being planted to deeply or mulched improperly. Deep, excessive mulch on the trunk of the tree will cause roots to grow toward the surface and wrap around the trunk of the tree eventually girdling or strangling the tree causing decline and death. Excess mulch on the trunk can also hold moisture against the trunk causing decay in this tissue which is not designed to be in the soil. |
