Mulching around trees?

10 years ago

So, over the last few weeks I've posted some pictures in the "name that plant" forum of trees that I didn't know what they were. In addition to all the great comments I received about the IDs, many also suggested I mulch around all of my trees. I have one Magnolia (~12ft tall), one Asian Dogwood (~10ft), 2 Bradford Pears (~20ft) and one oak (~30ft). At this point, should I be mulching around these trees as others suggested? And if so, how far around should eyes and how deep? And one more question, what do I need to do to prepare the ground that will be mulched? Do I just kills all the grass, then pull it up, put weed barrier down and then mulch? Thanks!!!

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Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
i would just hit the grass with round up.. in a nice 3 to 4 foot circle....

and bury it in 3 to 4 inches of mulch.. which will settle to 2 to 3 inches .. and keep it away from the trunk itself...

no need to remove dead grass.. and NEVER... use artificial weed barrier.. total waste of money... time.. and effort ...

your real issue.. is what type of edging you want... to hold the mulch out of the grass ...

ken
franktank232
10 years ago
Instead of chemicals, use cardboard... i use it all the time...works awesome for killing grass/weeds/etc...breaks down in short time (worms eat it)... Just cut it with a utility knife in the shape you want...wet it some after u get it in place and toss on some thick mulch (wood chips)...
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edit: well, it looks like that PDF access does not work, so here is the ref: "Impact of Mulches on Landscape Plants and the Environment --- A Review" - by Linda Chalker-Scott J. Environ. Hort. 25(4):239-249. December 2007 Mulch Problems --- Real and Perceived Acidification. Organic mulches such as wood chips and bark are thought by some to be soil acidifiers. No scientific research supports this, and in fact studies refute this perception. One study found neither pine bark nor pine needles had any affect on soil pH (51). A second report (60) found bare soil to be more acidic than soil covered by inorganic mulch, and that shredded bark and wood chips were least acidifying of all treatments. Similarly, a year-long study found that the soils under organic mulches were either more alkaline or not affected by mulch treatment (100). ItÃ¢ÂÂs likely that in artificial conditions, such as nursery production, that woody materials do have an acidifying effect when they are used as part of a potting medium. Release of phenolic acids is one stage of the decomposition of woody material, and if this material comprises the bulk of medium then acidification is likely to occur. In a field situation, however, where the woody material is used as a mulch (and not worked into the soil), any acidification will be localized within the mulch layer and have little effect on the vast underlying soil environment below. Thus, soil acidification due to mulching with woody plant material is unlikely to occur under real world conditions. Greenly, K. and D. Rakow. 1995. The effects of mulch type and depth on weed and tree growth. J. Arboriculture 21:225-232. Iles, J.K. and M.S. Dosmann. 1999. Effect of organic and mineral mulches on soil properties and growth of Ã¢ÂÂFairview Flame RÃ¢ÂÂ red maple trees. J. Arboriculture 25:163-167. Pickering, J.S. and A. Shepherd. 2000. Evaluation of organic landscape mulches: composition and nutrient release characteristics. Arboricultural J. 23:175-187. Here is a link that might be useful: Impact of Mulches on Landscape Plants and the Environment This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Tue, Oct 22, 13 at 10:45
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Kimmsr, perhaps if one thinks of "good", "better", "best" one can imagine the soil in a field. The north end of the two rows of trees is somewhat better soil, that area had the least die back but it still had die back. The south end soil is not quite as good and it had the worst die back. The rows immediately to the east and west that had no mulch applied had normal die back along the entire length of the rows. These rows are only 18 feet away, they were planted at the same time and they are the same kind of seedlings.. Trust me, the mulch somehow contributed to the die back. As I stated twice already and now for the third and last time, I do not know what caused the increased mortality but the mulch had something to do with it. I understand you are a soil test proponent, I have seen the several hundred references you have made regarding it therefore I understand your point of view. I didn't intend to get into a 10 post discussion about my trees. I applied mulch on some trees, those trees had a greater mortality rate than those that did not get mulch applied, the mulch somehow contributed to the increased mortality. Cause not known. Lloyd
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
where does one get such for multiple trees??

ken
franktank232
10 years ago
I save all my cardboard from Christmas and from UPS/Fedex packages...its amazing the amount of cardboard one accrues. You could ask on CL, you could scan the streets on garbage night, you could ask around... It works great for starting gardening beds too.
krnuttle
10 years ago
If you are looking for boxes (cardboard) I would check the local grocery stores. They usually have more cardboard than you will ever need. Our BJ a warehouse grocery, is an example of where you may find cardboard.

Other sources could be manufactures of small assembles, or any store that sells lots of small items that comes in boxes. most things on sales shelves do.

Other places are large warehouse, like moving companies. Many corporate move contracts specify new boxes, so the warehouse usually has a lot of used moving boxes.
brandon7 TN_zone7
10 years ago
I've used the cardboard method before and don't personally really care for it. The fact that it blocks normal water and gas movement (at least for some time), seemed to encourage surface roots, and was somewhat messy looking unless one adds more mulch than I usually do, made it less attractive to me. It is better than typical commercial weed barriers for this applications, but it's just not "my style".

I use glyphosate (generic for RoundUp) to kill grass within a 5' to 7' diameter circle around the tree. I am careful not to apply the glyphosate to any green bark or leaves of the tree. When the ground vegetation is killed, I use a string trimmer to clear all dead foliage (leaving little to no stubble). I am very careful not to hit the bark of the tree with the trimmer. Finally, I apply shredded bark mulch to the cleared area. I use around 4" to 5" around the outer edge of the circle and gradually taper the thickness down to less than 1/2" up against the trunk. Many people leave a gap between the mulch and the trunk, but I don't like that look, find it less helpful in reducing weeds, and have found no negative issues associated with such a thin layer near the trunk. In areas where voles are present, leaving a completely empty area around the trunk might be a better idea.
calliope
10 years ago
Exactly. I don't like the cardboard for trees either for the same reasons. It's fine in a veggie garden bed where there are no living roots underneath or none you want to keep. LOL. I don't do chemicals as a rule, but for certain jobs glyphosate is the answer. Don't have to do that often, as the sod gets stripped right at the get-go when I do new plantings before I dig the hole, just roll the dudes up like a carpet and move it to where some sod needs repaired. If there is no need, it gets composted.

Mulching around trees?

Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

franktank232

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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