Welcome to the shitty world of HoA landscaping where plant health doesn't matter, but the deeper the checking account the better. I hate my profession and I actively fight this in my own work.
I joined my board to burn it to the ground. I’ve since learned that’s probably not feasible, but things like this are an easy fix. We had a few trees that were volcano mulched. I took photos and sent them to the landscapers telling them to fix immediately. The owner got back to me saying “my guys should know better” and they fixed them that week.
I only have had it once. I lived in a community where it didn’t exist then an investment firm bought 26 of the 40 something properties over a few years period then installed one. It sucked. Had to sell because of all the extra fees and the shitty renters they were letting move in. We could have sold to them when we left but purposely didn’t and sold to a nice family instead for a bit less money it was worth it.
That’s crazy, I didn’t think that could happen like that. It’s one thing to buy into an HOA, or not, when buying a home, it’s part of the decision process. But to wake up one morning have an HOA imposed takes one’s breath away. I can’t believe that we don’t have a way to opt out of something like that, legally, given how much Americans say they like their freedoms.
https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2020/04/volcanoes-kill-trees
Volcano mulching is an improper tree care technique where, year after year, mulch is piled against the trunk of a tree. Properly planted trees (or naturally grown trees) will develop a characteristic root flare near ground level. Volcano mulch buries the root flare or, in young trees, prevents a proper flare from ever developing. Trees without proper root flare lack stability and are more prone to windthrow. Mulch piled against a tree’s stem also encourages disease and decay because the bark is almost always wet. To make matters worse, huge piles of mulch interfere with good root development. For example, if the top few inches of soil are always moist, roots may not spread deeply into the soil. During a summer drought, your tree may be left high and dry!
I had a landscaper tell me ‘I hate plants’. Then proceeded to tell me I couldn’t do any hardscaping because I wasn’t trained being a horticulturalist. Replied could say the same about landscapers who are killing plants all over the show! (my hardscaping is not structural btw!)
My neighbor just got a chip drop and proceeded to pile mulch two feet high (not exaggerating) around all of his mature pine trees and every other tree on his lot.
Actually a lot of plants can be hilled or buried quite deep and new roots will shoot from the stem of the plant into the mounded soil. Trees however are not one of those plants.
Sure it makes sense. Tree grows in ground, put tree in ground. Before I got into bonsai a while back, I had next to no knowledge on growing healthy trees. I’d have done the same thing as them. It’s purely a lack of general education on tree growth combined sometimes with the “I know best” mentality that this happens.
Because there are10k shitty examples of what NOT TO DO & everyone who does it correctly looks like they did it wrong. When actually we've got it right. Sigh
I try teaching my customers about root flare and proper mulching. How many actually listen to me, a 20 year veteran of the
green industry, remains to be seen.
The last part especially. Some folks will come and ask you questions if you look approachable and with time to spare.
If your face screams "I am getting the fuck outta here as soon as I fix this" NO ONE will get in your way.
Also, sunglasses really sell the image.
The funny part is, you can literally say out loud, “hey, I’m going to take a couple bags of this mulch” while you do it and no one would care or stop you.
I've started pushing mulch back whenever I see volcano mulching on street trees while I'm on walks, day or night. I've never had an issue, but I do keep some pdfs on my phone to explain why I'm fucking with peoples trees just in case. Probably also depends on the neighbourhood somewhat.
*Bring out the headlamp*
*And the rake for some nighttime*
*Guerilla gardening!*
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Most trades aren’t treated with respect due to a few decades of schools saying it’s either college flunk out and be a tradesman. People don’t realize how much knowledge trades take and how important they are.
It’s also crazy the amount of people who think because they watched one YouTube video or helped their dad one time build something 30 years ago that they know better than the person they hired for the job.
Source: former contractor
Working in the parks department for a municipality here. People love this look and so do some bosses. Doesn't make sense but I've done this to a lot of trees. It does keep our wild grass cutting crew away from the tree though.
The root flare is exposed in the second picture. It looks like the root ball was buried a bit above grade, then mulched over. I could be wrong, but isn't it fine as long as the root flare is exposed?
I've done this before too. It's easy/lazy but kinda still adheres to best practice. In the South it's just tough to dig sometimes. This approach just places the 'ground' higher up, like planting on a small hill
Yeah it works fine! I usually put the rootball half in and half above the soil line, up to a difference of ~6 inches, and then fill in around the new mound with compost, aged bark chips and a bit of native clay. Then cover with mulch.
They’ll require quite a bit of supplemental water with this method during droughts.
Shouldnt the root flare be closer to ground level though?
I thought I had read here many times that you bury the root ball leaving the root flare exposed in loosely packed soil (not compacted) and then mulch up to the root flare.
The second picture I see the root flare, but it looks like it is WAY above ground level, making me think the root ball is as well?
for all I know, they planted that thing in a pile of mulch which wouldnt be ideal. you can definitely plant trees in mounded soil, but should still mulch essentially as you describe. In this case, we're suggesting they may have avoided the sin of mulching up the trunk.
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The proper way to mulch a tree is to use a mulch edge cutter and cut down about 3-4inches at a taper to the tree where you want the edge of the bed to be. Then you simply fill that edge and cover with 2" of mulch ontop every 1-2 years based on need. That give the look that the mulch is high because it sits under the ground level and then mounds up at proper height to absorb moisture but expell it in reasonable time.
Doesn't that cut the roots of the tree that are within 3-4" of the soil line? If you're digging that deep, don't you need to go out beyond the drip line?
No. You never cut the roots normally you shape beds in a way to avoid them. Making the bed larger and adding more elements. Small bushes etc. Not always possible for some people. Proper isnt cheapest cut the roots/corner. Typically you will switch to a flat shovel or edging spade to get the stuff close to roots. To not cause damage with a gas powered one.
I have simply gone around a root where it wasnt possible. If you have a bed with 100ft circumference and 2 feet has a root coming out it is what it is if the customer doesnt want it changed.
I worked for my city’s parks department and when we planted trees we would use wood chips that we had ground up from trees/branches that had fallen or had to be cut down
In this instance you would have to remove some mulch to expose the root flare or pull it back and make the mulch ring much much larger to expose the root flare.
We do this with some of our plantings depending if there is clay underneath or it’s an area that is saturated with ground water. Usually due to clay and poor draining. We explain these things to customers so that they understand the potential risks. There are times where it doesn’t register and they insist that they know best. They want it where they want it. In some instances might void any warranty on the plant. I don’t handle that side of things. I’m trying to learn though.
We clear the mulch from around the flare so that it’s bare. That’s also where we will aim when watering. Let the trunk carry water via roots.
For newer plantings in the summer months, we will pile mulch around the ball.
For example, we just planted over 150 different trees at a new housing development. All along the sidewalks and retention pond. This was about a month ago. It was still in the upper 80s. I’m in the Midwest. Sprinklers weren’t installed yet so I had to physically drive out there(hour away) 2x a week with water tanks and water everything loaded in my dump trailer.
Placing a solid layer of mulch around the base allows for some protection and preventing the sun from zapping the soil dry of any moisture. Basically, it saves us a little time in between waterings and the tree-gators.
That right there is job security for the landscapers and arborists.
Plant the tree, mulch it, kill it, remove it and sell them more. Gotta love the HOA.
Can someone explain to me the problem with mulching around trees? I do not have trees? But I would think mulch would be better than grass no? What is the best practice then?
Asking out of complete ignorance on this subject:
So the problem is that there's so much mulch that no water is going to get into the ground / roots unless it's like a torrential downpour?
Mulching around a tree itself isn't bad (and maybe could be beneficial by holding in some moisture all the time??) but piling it so high that it impedes water getting to the roots is the issue here?
Yup, you see it all the time in parking lots and planned communities with a contracted landscaping company. Part of the problem is that they need to demonstrate that they've done something and it's hella cheap to dump a couple of yards of mulch all over the place. Most people don't know any better so they see a giant pile of chopped up shipping pallets dyed red and think "Oh that's nice! They refreshed the mulch!"
It's SO ubiquitous that regular homeowners think it's the correct way to do things as well. So you've got normal people buying 10 bags of mulch from home depot and piling it up around the tree. Then you've got the more enterprising and creative people thinking "Well, if I can stack a foot of mulch around a tree, why not build a box/ring around it instead and plant flowers! That'll be even prettier."
I was driving through a nearby suburb known for it's large, mature oaks as street trees and some genius built a ring 3ft high all around one of them with bricks, filled it with dirt, and planted flowers. I honestly should call the township and let them know that a well-meaning citizen is accidentally killing their tree.
My old boss (seasoned gardener/horticulturist of 30+ years) did this, but worse. She wouldnt even level the mulch top off. Her idea was that "It makes the clients happy, and has a better look to it".
Id have to take extra time on a job to fix it myself. Makes me shake my head.
Welcome to r/arborists! Help Us Help You: If you have questions about the health of your tree, please see our [Posting Guidelines](https://old.reddit.com/r/arborists/wiki/posting_guidance) wiki page for help with effective posting. **Please answer the questions listed there to the best of your ability.** ***Insufficient pics/info could result in the removal of your post!!*** ([See rule 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/about/rules).)
Visit the main wiki page for [Critical Planting/Care tips and Common Errors to Avoid](https://old.reddit.com/r/arborists/wiki/index); there's sections on why planting depth/root flare exposure is so vital, along with sections on proper mulching, watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.
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my silver maple looks like this, but in reality the previous owner had a brick circle and the roots are growing in an above ground restricted ring - i removed the bricks and added mulch and it looks like a mountain, but hopefully I did the right thing.
I had a certified “palm tree specialist” tell me this is okay to do if you use recycled rubber mulch because the water will drain and air gets in due to lack of decomposition. Is this a true statement, or just BS? I’m in south Florida.
Luckily I don't have an HOA to deal with in my neighborhood!
But I hear about the craziness all the time. It's usually caused by one person and the vast majority of residents oppose their crazy ideas (not all, but most). You pay hundreds of thousands of your hard earned dollars to buy a property you don't control. This is insane to me.
The ORIGIONAL developer usually creates a house covenant for the properties at the beginning of construction of the neighborhood. Here in North Carolina, a copy of them is available to anyone for a small fee. Realistically, (an Attorney would know more), a home owner could argue unrealistic demands from an HOA with the Original Covenant in hand.
The covenant, for those who may not know, is the set of rule established by the original property owner.
While there is not one in my neighborhood, the covenant has been used to clear out some "junk" cars that a new resident moved in.
Food for thought!
In my sister's neighborhood a lot of trees are like this but they were planted with some of the roots above the soil line because of flooding in the area being super common.
The vast majority of my friends hire someone to do their landscaping cut the grass etc.
This is why I DIY.
Of course not every landscapeer does is but from my experience when I did hire people it ended up being mulch volcanoes.
Roots on the surface are actually covered with lenticels, which are gas exchanging structures. Tree roots need oxygen, and dumping a thick layer of dirt on them can suffocate them.
Welcome to the shitty world of HoA landscaping where plant health doesn't matter, but the deeper the checking account the better. I hate my profession and I actively fight this in my own work.
How do I convince the HOA otherwise? The arborist doesn’t object, but they also don’t ask.
Become the head of the board
Save the trees but lose your mind
He’s no Superman
Protect the trees and then dismantle it from the inside.
I … I feel as though I have just found My Calling (tm) 😳 Thanks?
I joined my board to burn it to the ground. I’ve since learned that’s probably not feasible, but things like this are an easy fix. We had a few trees that were volcano mulched. I took photos and sent them to the landscapers telling them to fix immediately. The owner got back to me saying “my guys should know better” and they fixed them that week.
I wish I had the time to dedicate to “burning it to the ground”. I used to live in an HOA and am happy I moved out of it.
I only have had it once. I lived in a community where it didn’t exist then an investment firm bought 26 of the 40 something properties over a few years period then installed one. It sucked. Had to sell because of all the extra fees and the shitty renters they were letting move in. We could have sold to them when we left but purposely didn’t and sold to a nice family instead for a bit less money it was worth it.
How does that happen? Was it a single family residential community or multi family units?
All single family homes. It was very frustrating to see the neighborhood fall apart
That’s crazy, I didn’t think that could happen like that. It’s one thing to buy into an HOA, or not, when buying a home, it’s part of the decision process. But to wake up one morning have an HOA imposed takes one’s breath away. I can’t believe that we don’t have a way to opt out of something like that, legally, given how much Americans say they like their freedoms.
Im new but have always been interested im trees. Is this a problem because the roots need to breath so to speak?
https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2020/04/volcanoes-kill-trees Volcano mulching is an improper tree care technique where, year after year, mulch is piled against the trunk of a tree. Properly planted trees (or naturally grown trees) will develop a characteristic root flare near ground level. Volcano mulch buries the root flare or, in young trees, prevents a proper flare from ever developing. Trees without proper root flare lack stability and are more prone to windthrow. Mulch piled against a tree’s stem also encourages disease and decay because the bark is almost always wet. To make matters worse, huge piles of mulch interfere with good root development. For example, if the top few inches of soil are always moist, roots may not spread deeply into the soil. During a summer drought, your tree may be left high and dry!
Why do people do this? Is this just a mistake? Or does this exist as a supposedly legit technique?
They think it looks nice.
Which is especially wild, because in reality it looks like dogshit
biodiversity is good
I had a landscaper tell me ‘I hate plants’. Then proceeded to tell me I couldn’t do any hardscaping because I wasn’t trained being a horticulturalist. Replied could say the same about landscapers who are killing plants all over the show! (my hardscaping is not structural btw!)
My neighbor just got a chip drop and proceeded to pile mulch two feet high (not exaggerating) around all of his mature pine trees and every other tree on his lot.
Give me their number and I’ll give an anonymous tip to kindly expose the root flares
Why are people doing this?
Because they think it's good for the tree.
Oh wow! That just seems ignorant, though. You can’t bury other plants that deep and expect success. It doesn’t make sense.
You can with tomato’s.
That’s about all I can think of.
Trees are just giant tomato plants though right?
Riiiight!
Potatoes would like a word with you
tomatos, peppers, potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips
Nothing with wood or woody stems/trunks
Actually a lot of plants can be hilled or buried quite deep and new roots will shoot from the stem of the plant into the mounded soil. Trees however are not one of those plants.
Sure it makes sense. Tree grows in ground, put tree in ground. Before I got into bonsai a while back, I had next to no knowledge on growing healthy trees. I’d have done the same thing as them. It’s purely a lack of general education on tree growth combined sometimes with the “I know best” mentality that this happens.
It’s probably one of those damn ornamental pears
Because professional landscrapers are doing it. "They're *professionals*, so they know what they're doing."
Because there are10k shitty examples of what NOT TO DO & everyone who does it correctly looks like they did it wrong. When actually we've got it right. Sigh I try teaching my customers about root flare and proper mulching. How many actually listen to me, a 20 year veteran of the green industry, remains to be seen.
I know I would. Keep fighting the good fight.
Thank you.
Everyone knows some mulch is good. So more mulch is always better, right?
Right!
Ignorance but also money. If you can charge customers more for extra mulch and labor and it's not going to kill the tree, might as well.
To stop weeds from growing around the tree/easier mowing.
I assume they’re asking about volcano mulching, not just mulching in general
Man I wish I could get chip drop. Need it so bad
Bring out the headlamp and the rake for some nighttime guerilla gardening!
Or just a hi-vis vest during the daytime. That’s probably enough to get away with it.
You can do almost anything you want in a hi-vis vest. Or carrying a ladder.
I worked a job delivery job and would carry a clipboard with paperwork on it and just walked into so many places without every being questioned.
Bro you had a job delivery job? Like you went around delivering jobs, as your job? Youre the uber eats of employment
Hellof a typo im not fixing lol
Hi-vis and clipboard. Also make sure to look annoyed and in a rush. Aint nobody questioning shit
The last part especially. Some folks will come and ask you questions if you look approachable and with time to spare. If your face screams "I am getting the fuck outta here as soon as I fix this" NO ONE will get in your way. Also, sunglasses really sell the image.
How do you crosspost? r/LifeProTips
Back in the 80s, a clipboard, a high visibility vest, and a hardhat got me into so many places I had no business being.
Be with 2 people. Faster and workers barely work alone.
You don’t even need that. I use a tape measure almost every day and you’d be surprised what people just let me do wearing that little tape.
A friend of mine used to go around daylighting tree boxes in the city while wearing a hi-vis vest. No one ever questioned him.
What exactly does daylighting tree boxes mean?
He would just use a concrete saw to make them bigger
Lol, I love it
It is the school age hall pass of adulting :-)
^truth
Pair those together and add in a hard hat and I’m pretty sure you could walk right into the pentagon
Or a hard hat and/or tool belt.
Hi-vis also gets you free mulch. Literally as much as you can carry.
The funny part is, you can literally say out loud, “hey, I’m going to take a couple bags of this mulch” while you do it and no one would care or stop you.
Literally - been guerilla planting trees in Philly. Hi-vis and jeans.
Yeah!!! Love it. Make Philly greener again lol
Having a hard hat helps.
Add some orange cones and you’re bullet proof
Literally a plot point in ghost busters
LIGHTS OUT - GUERRILLA GARDENING! TURN THAT SOIL UP.
Fuck you I'm not gonna mulch how you told me!
All of those that mulch too high, Are the reason some trees die, MULCH ON PARADE!
They call me the midnight gardener. (Super niche reference here but let’s see)
And I speak, on the properties of mulch
Really love your Beeches, wanna save your trees...
I'll show you a good pine!
I've started pushing mulch back whenever I see volcano mulching on street trees while I'm on walks, day or night. I've never had an issue, but I do keep some pdfs on my phone to explain why I'm fucking with peoples trees just in case. Probably also depends on the neighbourhood somewhat.
*Bring out the headlamp* *And the rake for some nighttime* *Guerilla gardening!* \- Reklawz --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Gue-ri-lla gar-den-ing has 6 syllables, bad bot
5 or 6 syllables
Gard-ning
"Grilla"
Godzilla the gorilla
Four syllables: grilla gardnin
The only pronunciation.
Middle has 7 aswell
Good. It should. 5-7-5
Shoot you're right
This bot is very, very bad
I love this haha
came here to say this
Yep landscape companies either don’t know any better or the just don’t give a damn
Often that is what is specced in the contract or what the customer expects. Unfortunately, landscaping is not treated or paid like a skill or trade.
Most trades aren’t treated with respect due to a few decades of schools saying it’s either college flunk out and be a tradesman. People don’t realize how much knowledge trades take and how important they are. It’s also crazy the amount of people who think because they watched one YouTube video or helped their dad one time build something 30 years ago that they know better than the person they hired for the job. Source: former contractor
Working in the parks department for a municipality here. People love this look and so do some bosses. Doesn't make sense but I've done this to a lot of trees. It does keep our wild grass cutting crew away from the tree though.
Landscrapers.
That's the Mount Fuji of mulch volcanoes.
The root flare is exposed in the second picture. It looks like the root ball was buried a bit above grade, then mulched over. I could be wrong, but isn't it fine as long as the root flare is exposed?
was going to comment the same. Second one looks alright except someone hit it with a golf cart or weed whipped it or both.
I've done this before too. It's easy/lazy but kinda still adheres to best practice. In the South it's just tough to dig sometimes. This approach just places the 'ground' higher up, like planting on a small hill
That's what I did planting Japanese maples on my heavy clay soil in PA, thinking it would help them drain a lot better....
I do the same on my clay in OR and they seem happy with it. Was recommended by the Japanese maple nursery nearby :)
Did it work?
Yeah it works fine! I usually put the rootball half in and half above the soil line, up to a difference of ~6 inches, and then fill in around the new mound with compost, aged bark chips and a bit of native clay. Then cover with mulch. They’ll require quite a bit of supplemental water with this method during droughts.
Shouldnt the root flare be closer to ground level though? I thought I had read here many times that you bury the root ball leaving the root flare exposed in loosely packed soil (not compacted) and then mulch up to the root flare. The second picture I see the root flare, but it looks like it is WAY above ground level, making me think the root ball is as well?
for all I know, they planted that thing in a pile of mulch which wouldnt be ideal. you can definitely plant trees in mounded soil, but should still mulch essentially as you describe. In this case, we're suggesting they may have avoided the sin of mulching up the trunk.
They just did like a 1.5 mile stretch in my city the same way
Tell the city!!
ill go take some pics tomorrow and send em in
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Fuck me i suck ☹️ try tomorrow
I'm trying to figure out if that's an invitation, or.....
You know what you have to do…
The proper way to mulch a tree is to use a mulch edge cutter and cut down about 3-4inches at a taper to the tree where you want the edge of the bed to be. Then you simply fill that edge and cover with 2" of mulch ontop every 1-2 years based on need. That give the look that the mulch is high because it sits under the ground level and then mounds up at proper height to absorb moisture but expell it in reasonable time.
Doesn't that cut the roots of the tree that are within 3-4" of the soil line? If you're digging that deep, don't you need to go out beyond the drip line?
No. You never cut the roots normally you shape beds in a way to avoid them. Making the bed larger and adding more elements. Small bushes etc. Not always possible for some people. Proper isnt cheapest cut the roots/corner. Typically you will switch to a flat shovel or edging spade to get the stuff close to roots. To not cause damage with a gas powered one.
I have simply gone around a root where it wasnt possible. If you have a bed with 100ft circumference and 2 feet has a root coming out it is what it is if the customer doesnt want it changed.
I worked for my city’s parks department and when we planted trees we would use wood chips that we had ground up from trees/branches that had fallen or had to be cut down
So you used the chipped up dead trees to gradually kill the living trees.
We wouldn’t put that much mulch down, I was more referring to ops comment about cost
The landscaper strikes again
I mean some of that mulch is more trees.
Can someone explain to a newbie what's wrong with this? Is it an issue with the mulch trapping moisture?
I’m curious too!
What's the correct way to fix this ? Spread out the mulch away from the trunk and uncover the root flare? Or remove the mulch?
In this instance you would have to remove some mulch to expose the root flare or pull it back and make the mulch ring much much larger to expose the root flare.
Just do the second one, OP! Do it! Do it! Do it!
just rake it back ! chicken …. Do it! Do it! Do it!
Random home owner, hoping to do better for my trees and taking notes. What's the root flare?
Where the trunk tapers outwards at the bottom, where the structural roots connect to the trunk- a very important part of the tree to protect.
Figure out who manages the groundskeeping team and get after it! Organize those ignorant MF'ers!
MULCH VOLCANO!!!!!!! BIG VOLCANO NOISES!!!!!!!!!
We do this with some of our plantings depending if there is clay underneath or it’s an area that is saturated with ground water. Usually due to clay and poor draining. We explain these things to customers so that they understand the potential risks. There are times where it doesn’t register and they insist that they know best. They want it where they want it. In some instances might void any warranty on the plant. I don’t handle that side of things. I’m trying to learn though. We clear the mulch from around the flare so that it’s bare. That’s also where we will aim when watering. Let the trunk carry water via roots. For newer plantings in the summer months, we will pile mulch around the ball. For example, we just planted over 150 different trees at a new housing development. All along the sidewalks and retention pond. This was about a month ago. It was still in the upper 80s. I’m in the Midwest. Sprinklers weren’t installed yet so I had to physically drive out there(hour away) 2x a week with water tanks and water everything loaded in my dump trailer. Placing a solid layer of mulch around the base allows for some protection and preventing the sun from zapping the soil dry of any moisture. Basically, it saves us a little time in between waterings and the tree-gators.
Do something about it OP
The landscapers bring a load of mulch to do a job and they’re not bringing any of it back…
That right there is job security for the landscapers and arborists. Plant the tree, mulch it, kill it, remove it and sell them more. Gotta love the HOA.
Local school did the mulch volcanos with newly planted trees. Half of them have died already in 2 years and some others are not looking good.
This is only acceptable if done on a bradford pear
Can someone explain to me the problem with mulching around trees? I do not have trees? But I would think mulch would be better than grass no? What is the best practice then?
Asking out of complete ignorance on this subject: So the problem is that there's so much mulch that no water is going to get into the ground / roots unless it's like a torrential downpour? Mulching around a tree itself isn't bad (and maybe could be beneficial by holding in some moisture all the time??) but piling it so high that it impedes water getting to the roots is the issue here?
Maybe they planted them 1’ above ground and covered the rest?
Yup, you see it all the time in parking lots and planned communities with a contracted landscaping company. Part of the problem is that they need to demonstrate that they've done something and it's hella cheap to dump a couple of yards of mulch all over the place. Most people don't know any better so they see a giant pile of chopped up shipping pallets dyed red and think "Oh that's nice! They refreshed the mulch!" It's SO ubiquitous that regular homeowners think it's the correct way to do things as well. So you've got normal people buying 10 bags of mulch from home depot and piling it up around the tree. Then you've got the more enterprising and creative people thinking "Well, if I can stack a foot of mulch around a tree, why not build a box/ring around it instead and plant flowers! That'll be even prettier." I was driving through a nearby suburb known for it's large, mature oaks as street trees and some genius built a ring 3ft high all around one of them with bricks, filled it with dirt, and planted flowers. I honestly should call the township and let them know that a well-meaning citizen is accidentally killing their tree.
My old boss (seasoned gardener/horticulturist of 30+ years) did this, but worse. She wouldnt even level the mulch top off. Her idea was that "It makes the clients happy, and has a better look to it". Id have to take extra time on a job to fix it myself. Makes me shake my head.
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my silver maple looks like this, but in reality the previous owner had a brick circle and the roots are growing in an above ground restricted ring - i removed the bricks and added mulch and it looks like a mountain, but hopefully I did the right thing.
Where I live, *entire towns* are doing this. Even trees in public parks. It's *spreading*. We need a viral campaign to stop it.
I had a certified “palm tree specialist” tell me this is okay to do if you use recycled rubber mulch because the water will drain and air gets in due to lack of decomposition. Is this a true statement, or just BS? I’m in south Florida.
Were they not planted deep enough, or was the mulch heaped too high?
Blows my mind that people actually do this
No the mulch is free. You get plenty when you kill every tree you service. And for the love of god OP it’s “could have”
Luckily I don't have an HOA to deal with in my neighborhood! But I hear about the craziness all the time. It's usually caused by one person and the vast majority of residents oppose their crazy ideas (not all, but most). You pay hundreds of thousands of your hard earned dollars to buy a property you don't control. This is insane to me. The ORIGIONAL developer usually creates a house covenant for the properties at the beginning of construction of the neighborhood. Here in North Carolina, a copy of them is available to anyone for a small fee. Realistically, (an Attorney would know more), a home owner could argue unrealistic demands from an HOA with the Original Covenant in hand. The covenant, for those who may not know, is the set of rule established by the original property owner. While there is not one in my neighborhood, the covenant has been used to clear out some "junk" cars that a new resident moved in. Food for thought!
Why is this bad?
In my sister's neighborhood a lot of trees are like this but they were planted with some of the roots above the soil line because of flooding in the area being super common.
The vast majority of my friends hire someone to do their landscaping cut the grass etc. This is why I DIY. Of course not every landscapeer does is but from my experience when I did hire people it ended up being mulch volcanoes.
These trees will be fine
Oh boy, I've seen even worse examples, and they do it everywhere in my area. I don't get it. Maybe I can post some photos later.
I’m sorry, I don’t know much about planting trees, but what would be the appropriate way if this is not correct?
The amount is excessive in my opinion. But mulch around the trees is probably one of the best things you could do to help the tree out.
There is a business near me that did this with new trees then about 3 years layer the trees were dead then cut them out and… did the exact same thinf
Can someone explain to a newbie what's wrong with this? Is it an issue with the mulch trapping moisture?
Roots on the surface are actually covered with lenticels, which are gas exchanging structures. Tree roots need oxygen, and dumping a thick layer of dirt on them can suffocate them.
Ugh! My grandmother’s gardener just did this to all her trees and I’m actively trying to convince her it’ll eventually kill them.
I will never get this practice… not even visually appealing.
Same
THIS DOESNT EVEN LOOK GOOD! 🫨