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Update: my 3 inch mulch volcano killed a maple in 8 months, here is what I did instead
I did the classic thing and piled mulch up against the trunk of a 12 year old red maple in my front yard in Omaha, thinking more was better. About 8 months later the bark at the base was soft and peeling and I could see girdling roots starting to wrap around. I pulled the whole pile back with a hand rake and found the root flare buried 6 inches deep, which I had never even thought to check. Turns out the trunk stayed wet and the roots grew up instead of out. I dug it out carefully over a weekend, cut the worst circling roots with a clean pruner, and spread only 2 inches of mulch in a ring that stays 4 inches away from the trunk. That tree is still alive two seasons later but it is not out of the woods yet. What depth do you all keep your rings at, and do you use any kind of edging to hold the line?
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gray_morgan1d ago
How deep did you end up going once you found the flare? I used to be the guy piling mulch up to the trunk because that's how my dad did it and his trees lived, so I figured it was fine. Then a storm took out a 15 year old maple of mine and the base was a mush sandwich of wet bark and roots going in circles. Now I go 2 inches deep max and pull it back so there's a bare gap all the way around, maybe 3 or 4 inches of open dirt at the trunk. I used to think the gap looked unfinished, but a dead tree looks a lot worse. No edging for me, I just cut a clean circle with a flat shovel once a year so the grass doesn't creep in.
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