TIL my neighbor's oak died from a bad mulch volcano

I saw a crew pile mulch 12 inches high against the trunk of a mature pin oak in Springfield last month, and the tree showed clear signs of girdling roots and bark rot by this weekend. This is the third time I've seen this kill a tree in our area this year. What's the best way you've found to politely educate a client about proper mulch depth?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade_hernandez13d ago

That's so frustrating to watch happen. Seeing a perfectly good tree get killed by a simple mistake feels totally avoidable. I've had luck showing people pictures of the "donut" method versus the volcano, it makes it super clear. Sometimes just pointing out how the mulch touching the bark is like a wet blanket that never dries helps them get it.

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grant.richard13d ago

Wait, people actually do the volcano thing on purpose?