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| Has anyone seen the article in the link below?
It's basically saying the downside of mulch rings at the base of trees outweigh the benefits. I wonder. I'm less concerned about ease of maintenance than I am about my young Ginkgo tree growing fast and healthy. But I do have it planted in an area of nice grass that grows right up to the base of the tree, and it looks quite nice like that (it's been that was for 2 years already, maybe mistakenly so, but I'm still learning)- but I'd hate to dig out the nice grass to put in a mulch ring if it's something that isn't really that beneficial. I wonder what others think about this? |
Here is a link that might be useful: The Case Against Mulch Rings
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by duluthinbloomz4 zone 4a (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 16:18
| The mulch volcanoes as pictured are just plain butt ugly. When a tree is young and newly planted, I can see it mulched for a couple or few years until a good root system is established. But not with the mulch stacked up in a suffocating mound. And also avoid the scallop-edgers or left over project bricks filled in with white rocks. The Renegade Gardener dealt with this back in 2002 in one of his "Don't Do This" columns To wit: "The tree, usually a vastly mature oak, circled with hosta... You have this majestic, seventy-foot oak, king of the forest, lord of all trees, forced to endure the indignity of wearing a circus clown's collar, a little girl's teeny tutu... If a mature tree is growing from your lawn, let it grow straight out of the lawn. Grass looks great growing right up to the shoulder roots of a tree. If you're going to circle something, circle a date on your calendar when you will go out into your yard, and set your trees free." |
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| First, the author "...is a landscape architect profession and a gardner by obsession." He says,"Forget convenience: mulch rings are downright ugly." Having aesthetic judgement about "lawns looking like Swiss cheese" because of the mulch rings is BS to me. He complains about the long term maintenance becoming more trouble than it is worth (edging the turf). He points out that the mulch rings prevent lawn mower and string trimmer damage, which is quite true, but then says, "The truth is, it's just not that hard to cut grass around trees without damaging them." Maybe true on the high level properties with high level, knowledgeable horticulturists doing the maintenance. But, having worked for a number of landscape maintenance companies I can assure you that the typical mow crew member is NOT highly trained in horticulture. Most of them don't understand why mowing heights are varied at different times of the year, or why cool season grasses are best fertilized in the fall and warm season in very late spring and summer. I have given numberous, repeated lectures to the employees of those companies on why trees in turf should not be whacked with mowers or string trimmers, following up soon thereafter on the properties that they mowed, where fresh damage is the rule, not the exception. These typically low pay employees don't care about the trees, they just care about how fast they get each job done so they can get to the next convenience store or chat with their girlfriends on the cell phone. Mulching provides an important barrier. Also, the local extension research center just finished a several year study of the effects of newly planted trees in fescue turf, bermuda turf and no turf (mulched beds). Of course, the mulched trees outgrew and outperformed the trees in turf. Another reason to avoid the no mulch theory. He may be an avid gardener but he had better take his aesthetic blinders off and do a little more functional research. hortster |
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| Eh, mulch rings serve minimal purpose around mature trees, but I like hosta rings. |
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| Hey, what happens in the fall when you have a thick ground cover or hosta bed around your tree? The leaves filter down through and form what? Natural mulch. I will give the guy a couple of his points - overapplied mulch forming a volcano with a tree sticking out of it IS ugly. And applying the mulch so that it builds against the lower bark of the tree can cause rot. But I still hold that mulch rings do more good than bad. hortster |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 17:04
| You will always get differences of opinion on topics like this. Aesthetics are always in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I think trees dotted around the landscape in the middle of a "continuous lawn" look like a collection of lollipops or popsicles. Where do you see trees growing isolated like that in nature? It makes much more sense to have them anchor a large planting bed with a understory of appropriate plants.....at least that gives them some semblance of context, which a lawn does not. Note that I referred to a large planting bed, not a mulch ring. Sorry, but there is no context there either for a mature tree. But at the very least a mulch ring is essential for the establishment of young trees. It does reduce the competition from lawn grasses for both nutrients and soil moisture and it also offers a degree of protection against mowers and string trimmers. btw, after improper watering, trimmer damage is the number one cause of failure for young or newly planted trees. The ISA offers a pretty good discussion of this subject at the attached link. |
Here is a link that might be useful: trees versus turf or mulch
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| Thanks for the input. Ok on the mature trees, but my ginkgo is still pretty young (about 8-9 feet tall). I had Marathon II sod installed at the same time I planted the tree, 2 years ago. My highest priority is fastest growth of the tree, so it sounds like maybe I should go ahead tear out some of the grass and mulch it (avoiding the infamous mulch volcano). How far out from the trunk should I remove the grass? Would 2-3 feet be enough? |
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| Actually, gardengal, there are places where mature trees do dot a large grassy area. In fact, it has been shown by research that this particular facet of the African landscape is universally (or at least, generally) preferred across all populations of the world. Perhaps its genetic. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Google search on
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| Oh, just saw your post/link gardengal, thanks. That has some good info. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 17:33
| and if i blogged that your butt would explode if you didnt do it.. would we all be discussing that???? .. there is a link for every opinion.. and a lot of them are useless .... i have a couple hundred trees .. with the riding lawnmower i scar a few every year ... AND I HAVE THE MULCH RINGS>> LOL .. creative driving.. sober too!!! ... same with weed whipping .. swatting a bee.. sneezing.. yeah.. in a perfect world.. i would have one tree and be able to amble out 20 feet with a pair of scissors.. and carefully trim the grass away ... and dont get me going on the educational standards and care of hired lawn peeps.. i were one once ... 6 of this.. half dozen of the other.. you have one tree ... and its not a burden .. and you are sure you will never 'nick' it ... DO WHATEVER YOU WANT... dont get caught up in what everyone else wants you to do ... i am thinking of a recent pic.. with a single tree.. on perfect lawn ... and i said.. ring it ... is that yours??? if so.. let me retract it.. and repeat.. DO WHATEVER YOU WANT... the lawn is proof enough of substantial water.. and lawn food [which means that tree will NEVER need fert] ... on my 5 acres.. the mulch rings .. at planting ... push the odds heavily in my favor.. should one or two get forgotten.. and not watered.. if this is your one babe.. in suburbia.. and you are out there every day.. talking to it.. and fondling it.. with your scissors in hand .. pshaw on my suggestion of a mulch ring.. but not for the reasons at your link ... i will yell ... ITS YOUR GARDEN.. DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.. and a pox on those who insist otherwise.. lifes to short.. to make others happy.. at the expense of your happiness ... enough philosophy for today ... ken |
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| Yes Ken, thank you. I had just bought the mulch and was ready to dig the ring this evening, just as you suggested, but then came across that article. So it just gave me pause, and I thought I'd just try to get some more opinions before passing the point of no return. That's all. I appreciate all the advice and I certainly always do what I want once I am satisfied that I have enough information to comfortably proceed. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 18:29
| Markces, in your case, with a youngish tree that you do want to develop rapidly, a decent sized mulch ring is the most cost-effective means to your goal. That much has been well-established, that good-sized mulch rings, properly applied, boost growth rates. Once a tree is off and running, the answers become less clear, as attested to by some of the previous posts. There's more than one path to a pleasing landscape. Now on a related topic, one thing I have come to hate is how lots of people, having seen mulch, go nuts with it, ending up with big "landscape beds" that are in fact, little more than beds of mulch. That is hideous and there's getting to be too much of it. I think this guy makes some fair points. Henry F. Arnold, in his now-classic Trees in Urban Design also makes some cogent arguments against the proliferation of mulch. I think there's room for such points of view even though I still do strongly recommend mulching new plantings. There, the benefits are pretty hard to deny. +oM |
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| markces, ken was (is?) a hippie and sometimes we all wonder what else he is growing! "It's your thing, do what you wanna do..." :), ken. :) "I think trees dotted around the landscape in the middle of a "continuous lawn" look like a collection of lollipops or popsicles. Where do you see trees growing isolated like that in nature?" Conversely, one doesn't often see turf in a forest, unless in a treeless glade. The reverse of that concept. In the article gardengal cites, "While shade is the biggest, most obvious problem trees create for turf growth, a tree's roots also contribute to poor turf performance." New trees are also hindered by turf. The article also goes on to state that "Mulching is an alternative to turf around trees, and its use eliminates potential competition. A 2- to 4-inch layer of wood chips, bark, or other organic material over the soil under the drip line is recommended because it -helps retain soil moisture -helps reduce weeds and controls grass -increases soil fertility when mulch decomposes -improves appearance [THE point of contention here] -protects the trunk from injuries caused by mowing equipment and trimmers that often result in serious tree damage or death -improves soil structure (better aeration, temperature, and moisture conditions) It creates a mini-forest condition for the new trees. We could argue this for weeks, but I will still aver that mulch around the base of a tree, in the vast majority of cases, does more good than evil. hortster |
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 20:18
| want to know the problem with most garden writing? the goal of the author is to win acolytes to their.way of.thinking/doing things, not.to actually provide.information for you to make your own decisions. the view of a tree on the afeican safari...from a distance...has nothing to do with the condition of the turf and root systems once you get.under.the canopy. i have large trees (dbh 4' +/-) that have such prominent surface.roots that i refuse to bring a mower or.weed eater within ten feet of the trunk. does that mean my yard is going to be invaded.by aliens? if only i get so lucky |
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| hey, strob - Sure, we wish to influence others to our way of thinking. But, it is like being a conservative, independent or liberal. Rich? Conservative. Free thinker? Independent. For others and the earth? Liberal. We think the way our experiences have taught us to lean. But to disagree, my goal is to provide information that helps others to make the same decision that was made because it worked. All my trees have flourished with mulch rings, I haven't scarred them with the mower or string trimmer. Ergo, I rebuild the mulch ring as needed -not against the trunk, not too deeply - although the roots are far past the ring. Works for me and I will continue to promote the positives that have occurred. To each, their own. hortster |
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| Personally, I think trees dotted around the landscape in the middle of a "continuous lawn" look like a collection of lollipops or popsicles. Ditto to that. Depending on the layout of the trees the planting beds ground out the trees. I've never thought a nice substantial ring of mulch looks ood. What is ood is a little round ring that is edged with bricks, stones, fencing, etc. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sun, Jul 15, 12 at 22:56
| What is this "ood" you refer to? JK.........+oM |
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| You have hit on one of my issues and that is the vast mulch oceans of the U.S. I think them hideous. There is certainly a place for mulch but the whole mulch craze started when small (and cheaper) nursery stock were placed in jobs and mulched around until they got enough size to compete with turf and established. The intent was protective and to aid in weeding and conserve moisture. Somehow the 'look' caught on and folks doing their own version of landscaping thought that's what a properly done job by professionals should look like. It became especially bizarre when the mulch started becoming dyed black and red and bleeding onto hands when using it. argh. Good quality mulch (like pine bark) has some beneficial disease dampening qualities to it, but what we are getting mass-marketed now my be little more than old pallets and scrap being recycled. I will mulch a new, young tree. But the majority of my specimen trees will be placed in islands in the turf, consisting of a tree or two, some appropriate shrubs and perennials and groundcover. I have groundcover of all descriptions in my plantings, from shade to sun tolerant, soggy to dry tolerant and that provides the protection from equipment and evaporation that others use mulch for. The other trees, when they become mature and size up, we allow the grass to again encroach, unless there are a lot of exposed surface roots. Let's just say as far as my tastes, the mulch volcanes and rings just look out of place and I don't understand large expanses of mulch, either. |
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- Posted by alabamatreehugger 8a/8b south Alabama (My Page) on Mon, Jul 16, 12 at 12:56
| Just spritz a little RoundUp around it, that'll keep the grass off of the trunk. A little spritz will not hurt the tree. FWIW, I like to use pine straw around mine, looks more natural. |
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| Yes....of course the pine windbreak takes care of the pine straw mulch itself, and yes, we are careful on the trees not sitting in the islands of ground cover to remove any suckering growth and will use a spritz of round up. It's my concession (because I am not particularly fond of it) to my mate who does the grounds keeping and we have hundreds of trees on site, who are not part of the wood lot. |
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| "We think the way our experiences have taught us to lean" Absolutely - and I think the aesthetics of mulch rings are very much related to what you are used to. The English landscape movement depended very much on solitary trees in a landscape of meadow grass, preferably with some picturesque cattle or sheep grazing around them. This look is entirely unnatural but I, personally, love the ancient solitary mature trees which dot our countryside. I also hate mulch rings. They are definitely not necessary for the health of the trees, at least not in our climate, and there are millions of trees growing straight out of grass perfectly happily. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Popsicles for Gardengal. (Ely, UK)
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- Posted by formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) (My Page) on Mon, Jul 16, 12 at 14:33
| Calliope and Wisconsitom, those of us in CA can't grow grass, at least not without an enormous amount of effort (and water). Many of us don't have a blade of grass no matter the size of our gardens, and many municipalities offer cash bounties for lawn removal, due to the water usage. Thus, we have to come up with some substance to cover the bare earth to prevent erosion, retain moisture, reduce weeds, etc. Mulch is often the answer, especially when the plants are young. In climates where large expanses of grass are possible, the aesthetic has generally evolved to favor the landscapes that flora describes. That aesthetic traveled with the settlers from England to the US and is the dominant aesthetic in much of the Eastern US. It's lovely, just not possible here in CA with our dry summers and Mediterranean climate. Markces, your decision about whether to mulch your tree or not is largely aesthetic as long as you don't even consider the harmful practice of piling the mulch up the tree trunk. Do whatever you think looks best. One could make the argument that the mulch surrounding the tree is more beneficial to the tree than grass, for the reasons laid out above by Wisconsitom, but grass will not hurt the tree. As many have noted, the choices that one makes in one's own garden are largely - if not completely! - matters of personal taste. That's part of what makes it rewarding! |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Mon, Jul 16, 12 at 17:32
| But see F&F, you have a functional reason for your widespread mulch. That makes all the difference to me. Aside from a few birds and pollinating insects that actually need access to bare soil, just about any covering is to be preferred. +oM |
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- Posted by franktank232 z5 WI (My Page) on Mon, Jul 16, 12 at 18:55
| I mulch everything. |
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- Posted by formandfoliage 9b (Sunset zone 15) (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 13:51
| Thanks, +oM - yes, it is functional here, and we haven't much choice as we wait for our groundcovers grow. I use low-growing junipers, arctostaphylos, cotoneaster, callistemon, grevillea, rosemary, etc as 'negative space' grass-substitutes, but they can take a while to fill in. See Ed Remsrola (the author of 'The Amazing World of Conifers' blog on mulch - today's posting, below |
Here is a link that might be useful: Hooray for Mulch!
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 14:27
| I too mulch everything.......and for all the reasons hortster outlines. In fact, mulching is generally considered to be one of the best practices you can do for your garden. But I also dislike mulch rings, preferring to incorporate trees into a broader context than just the lawn. flora, I get your point and yes, the link indicates a very attractive and picturesquely bucolic scene. But not particularly relevant to an average US urban or suburban lot :-) Ditto with the savannah setting - if we all lived in an African savannah with that sort of climate and native species, that might make more sense. But in a typical cultivated urban/suburban garden the concept of "landscape" is severely limited, primarily by space but also by vista. A tree in a circle in the middle of the lawn just looks.........unconsidered. |
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| Trees are fine either in grass or in beds. In a lawn you want to start them out with mulch so they can develop without the grass inhibiting them, receive the other beneifts of mulch. After they get big enough you want to have the grass come right up to the trunk whenever possible, as that is what looks the best. Beds should be kept mulched at all times, by whatever material seems suitable or desirable for each particular planting (some kinds of plants are even best mulched with rocks). Results are much better with mulch than with exposed soil. An exception might be warm season vegetables in a cool climate, where you are trying to get the soil to warm up. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Jul 17, 12 at 17:21
| I can think of one other situation in which bare soil is better, and that is when one wishes to encourage as many volunteer seedlings as possible. My grandmother, bless her soul, was as fine a gardener as ever turned a clod of soil. Yet despite the fact that she lived well into the age of mulch, it was never for her. And she had babies of every plant she ever planted coming up all over the place. But for sure if you're intent on getting the best possible start for your tree or groundcover plant, or even your annual flower bed, mulch is a huge help. +oM |
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| All situations are different. Take the non-irrigated area under a large oak (neighbor's tree with girdling root!). Mulch ring, or not? Turf won't grow. Hostas won't grow. Maybe Bishop's weed or Lamiastrum, either of which would be an eventual disaster. Turf to the base of a tree IS the most pleasing but doesn't always work. hortster |
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| Tree is not very big, I would put mulch there. |
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| I'm hoping that groundcovers take over good enough to eliminate the need for mulching most of the trees when they get bigger. If you want a shade garden though, you are a slave to the mulch. I know some trees will shade out all underplantings, like Southern Mags. I am trying to stop the urge to start more beds of shade plants. I need to keep up with those I have with my tiny hatchback filled with many trips of bagged mulch, thank goodness they are only about 3 miles from home. The free stuff is kinda rough (from the compost site) and I see what extra I can get when I no longer need tons of it, until next year, that is. I may try to get more free and use my big chipper to chomp down the bigger pieces. Anyway, I am in favor of mulch for young trees, applied properly of course. |
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