skip to main content

Fruit & Orchards

How to make a mulch ring around fruit trees?

14 years ago

I want to create mulch rings around newly planted fruit trees. How wide should the ring be? And what should I mulch the ring with? And what is a good material for making the ring shape with - stones, plastic or wood strips or soil? These are bare root trees. Thanks for your suggestions.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

olpea
14 years ago
Hi Ashley,

There was a lengthy discussion about mulch a few days ago. Perhaps that's why you're not getting much of a response. I don't think it matters what you ring your mulch with. I'd use whatever you have, or whatever looks pretty to you. The link below talks mostly of wood chips, but you can mulch with pretty much anything you have available that breaks down. I'd recommend keeping the mulch from touching the trunk and taking it out just past the drip line. Obviously it will grow a little each year. Keep an eye out for rodents nesting in/under the mulch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Is fresh mulch OK for fruit trees
sautesmom Sacramento
14 years ago
Whatever you do, don't use those recycled rubber ones! I bought them 2 years ago, and within a month everything under them was fried (not sun-starved) because in the sun they get hotter than asphalt. I can't see how that is good for the roots and trunk and earthworms, so I took them back, and got REAL mulch.

Carla in Sac
Related Discussions
Circular plastic tree rings filled with mulch?
Q
Comments (9)
I just checked (06/12/11 and the tree rings are available at Home Depot at least on-line. They are called "Arbor Edge Plastic Round Tree Rings" I like them and use them without mulch really keeps weeds and grass away from the base of a tree. And you don't need a weed eater as if you set the mower a little high you can mow over the edge's. Also water flows in with no problem as there are opening plus the large opening in the center which could I suppose be enlarged for large trees.
...See More
Is fresh mulch OK for fruit trees?
Q
Comments (50)
Just a quick mention regarding a possible cheap supply prospect towards obtaining wood chip mulch here, for those interested. I get mine from a local "pallete" manufacturing company. Consider looking that word up in your regional Yellow Pages. This company recycles old palletes that trucking companys, warehouses, and such haul in. They get ground up into a decent average sized aggregate that seems to last for a good while without immediately breaking down or getting moldy. I like this aspect in that it lets in sufficient air to not stay to wet for to long. The old pallete material is in most cases well aged before making it to this stage of the process. This seems to help it last. I'm sure their are a good mix of wood varieties involved. So far no problems with any sorts of mysterious residually enhanced kill-off or die-back effects either! It' not free. But $10.00 gets your pickup loaded in several quick scoops worth of a large skid loader, and your down the road with it. So that alone makes it well worth the minimal expense. They run it over a magnetic belt to remove the majority of nail remains. I can be as generous as necessary with any coverage needs via this option. Not everyone will find a local source for this of course. I do actually consider myself lucky in regards to having this option. But where it may exist, it is both handy & cheap!!! ~ q3
...See More
Fruit Tree Mulch?
Q
Comments (35)
Leaves are a wonderful tree mulch IMHO I always use them, with excellent results. Of course I do shred them very well first. Leaves contain trace minerals that tap roots pulled from deep in the earth bringing these minerals to the surface. More trace minerals are in leaves than in rock dust. Benefical fungi love leaf mulch, and you attract nutrient producing bacteria. Not to mention it is the earth worm's favorite food! It doesn't get better. Shred and lay in the fall and they keep the heat in the ground around the roots, by mid-spring they are almost completely gone. To help breakdown add coffee grounds throughout the winter. I hold them down with a thin layer of compost. Think about a forest, the leaves fall all around the trees and they do fine, to think they are harmful is incorrect, and people have pro by their name and suggest otherwise? Wow! Sounds like a way to sell other mulches and make volcanoes around trees! I guess all the different folks in these links are wrong? Not! http://www.organiclandcare.net/education/olc-articles/mulching-save-money-using-leaves-mulch http://landscaping.about.com/od/pruningtrees/f/mulching_trees.htm http://organicgardening.about.com/od/organicgardenmaintenance/a/autumnleaves.htm
...See More
Rubber tree ring mats for fruit trees?
Q
Comments (3)
Yes, they are a bit more pricey than I'd like, but I wonder if they'd be worth it. I might try a couple out just to see how it goes. That is good to know about laying down some fabric beneath them. My concern with them is that mice or other rodents/pests might make their homes beneath them. Also, I don't know how large of one I'd need to be worth it. What other types of mulches and/or weed barriers are good for fruit trees? I really want to control weeds and conserve some moisture in our hot, sandy soil. Thanks for the responses! I do appreciate the input!
...See More
ashleysf
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, I decided to use a brick edging around the tree and mulch with a combination of compost and bagged mulch. This should help the soil around the tree because that piece of land was hard earth and I am hoping to get some earthworms to move in there.
ashleysf
Original Author
14 years ago
My local "high end" nursery has a product called "waterround" now. Has anybody tried it and do you have any opinions on it?

Here is a link that might be useful: WaterRounds
brandon7 TN_zone7
14 years ago
The WaterRounds product looks like a really bad bad idea to me. First, they will encourage/produce girdling roots. For this reason alone, they appear to be a horrible idea. Next, they block normal root growth, making the tree less stable and less able to reach needed nutrients and moisture. Third, they are a waste of money. A small circular mound of dirt along the outer edge of the planting hole made with excess dirt from the hole, eliminates the above mentioned problems and works equally well to channel water into the root system.
eric_wa
14 years ago
I second what brandon said. Also it looks to be plastic. Natural systems are always better. Compost, manures, wood chips.

Eric
ashleysf
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for saving me lots of $$$$ on the water rounds :)
softmentor
14 years ago
How far out? I'd recomend 6 feet in every direction. 3 feet is enough for the first year, but by the second year, that's not enough, so if you are setting edging, I'd go at least 6, and 8 is better.

Related Stories

EDIBLE GARDENS Grow Plum Hybrids for Your Favorite Fruit Flavors

By Marianne Lipanovich

Plums are cozying up with apricots, peaches and even cherries — here’s how to grow these hybrids for the best aspects of each

EDIBLE GARDENS How to Grow 10 Favorite Fruit Trees at Home

By Marianne Lipanovich

Plant a mini orchard in fall, winter or early spring to enjoy fresh-off-the-tree fruit the following year

GARDENING GUIDES The Art of Green Mulch

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

You can design a natural garden that doesn’t rely on covering your soil with wood and bark mulch

GARDENING GUIDES New Ways to Think About All That Mulch in the Garden

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Before you go making a mountain out of a mulch hill, learn the facts about what your plants and soil really want

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Grow Blueberries for Their Fruit and More

By Ellen Sousa/Turkey Hill Brook Farm

Eastern gardeners should consider growing blueberry plants for their delicious fruits, bee-friendly spring blooms and brilliant fall foliage

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: Up and Out Around a Heritage Tree

By Nora Burba Trulsson

A Texas ranch house gets a modern makeover and a two-story addition that wraps around a protected backyard elm

DECORATING GUIDES 10 Tree-Hugging Interiors That Work Around Nature

By Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors

Bursting up through the floor, planted in an indoor patio or potted in any room you choose, trees bring an elegance that's organic

GARDENING GUIDES How to Pick a Mulch — and Why Your Soil Wants It

By Jocelyn H. Chilvers

There's more to topdressing than shredded wood. Learn about mulch types, costs and design considerations here

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Common Fig

By Becky Harris

A full form and delicious fruits make this Middle Eastern tree a favorite in gardens around the world

FALL GARDENING 5 Fall Fruits You Can Grow in Containers

Brighten your porch or patio with a potted pomegranate, kumquat, blueberry bush or another great fall fruit

Sponsored

More Discussions

best cantaloupe for this area?

0

Advice on planting blueberry plant

9

Peach tree dead buds

2

Beginner apple tree initial care

0

Peach Tree Leaf Curl

6