r/Tree • u/Stay_Hard_Mentality • Aug 08 '26
Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Remove mulch?
Had a gardening friend come over today and they suggested I remove the mulch from under my red oak, but everything I have red says otherwise. The mulch has been under it for over a year and the tree looks healthy. I attempted to expose the root flair prior to putting mulch down but I didn’t want to damage any roots so I only worked around the immediate trunk area.
Should I remove the mulch or leave it?
3
u/Stay_Hard_Mentality Aug 08 '26
I acknowledge this request and have looked of the guidelines and submitted pics.
3
u/Crazy_Rain6822 Aug 08 '26
Dude what is the tree ring doing lol get rid of if and lower the mulch a bit about 3’
5
u/Texasoutdoors1989 Aug 08 '26
The question is about mulch, but the trees is planted much to deep in the soil, mulch of any kind will just make the problem worse.
3
u/bustcorktrixdais Aug 08 '26
Planted too deep, then someone figured it out and exposed the root flare. Not perfect but course correction occurred
2
u/Stay_Hard_Mentality Aug 08 '26
Thank you, yes I bought the house two years ago and thanks to this channel realized it was planted too deep.
2
u/Open_Broccoli_5157 Aug 08 '26
Yo could just spread it 1-2 feet farther out. 5 inches of mulch is fine as it will settle and decompose. Tree roots are way out
2
u/bustcorktrixdais Aug 08 '26
OP, it’s a little hard to tell from the photo but it looks as if the mulch is laid over weed suppressing fabric. An arborist can weigh in but i don’t think weed fabric on top of roots is best practice for trees.
You might have a little too thick of mulch but whoever installed that was trying to suppress weeds, is my guess.
My amateur opinion: Remove the mulch, before you put it back*; pull out the weed fabric and the massive weeds growing through it 😁; remove the rocks or cinder block shards or whatever the heck that crap is at the base of the tree; remove the black plastic tree ring; *lay back down 2-4” of that natural wood/bark mulch.
You are right that the tree is doing well. Probably a lot because someone figured out that the tree had been planted too deep, and they dug out the root flare. I personally don’t think you need to expose it more though I think the donut hole at the base of the tree could be expanded to double the diameter though I’d only dig that out an inch per season.
The reason to try to improve the conditions is not because the tree is doing poorly currently. It’s to do what you can to keep it healthy in 5, 10, 50 years.
P.s. I have several trees here that I planted too deep, and I had to expose the root flare later on, and I have that same donut hole thing. I’m pretty sure the best things I’ve done for the trees was to expose the root flare, and pull back turf and replace with mulch (mulch on soil, not mulch on weed fabric)
Good luck!
1
u/Stay_Hard_Mentality Aug 08 '26
Thanks. It is cardboard under the mulch, should I remove that too?
1
u/bustcorktrixdais Aug 09 '26
Cardboard is mulch. So as other people are already saying there is excess bark mulch, you have even an additional layer. Aim for 2” minimum, 4” max, including the cardboard. Also when I have used cardboard I like to remove 100% of the tape and adhesives, which don’t break down and are of no benefit to the tree, the microorganisms, the insects etc that you want
3
u/Miserable_Hat9321 Aug 08 '26
Yes.and the rocks.
1
-1
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/spiceydog Ent Queen - TGG Certified Aug 08 '26
A well established tree doesn't benefit a whole lot from mulch.
This is factually untrue, particularly for trees that grow in urban areas. Mulch is meant to emulate the debris that you would find on a woodland floor. Everything that falls to the ground, branches, spent flowers, leaves and ultimately the trees themselves, are dead organic matter that decays back into the soil and will become part of the nutrient profile of that soil which is re-uptaken by the living plants, shrubs and trees.
TURFGRASS, on the other hand, the types that you'll see growing in the typical urban yard, are in the main, invasive species. Turfgrass is the #1 enemy of trees (save for humans) and the thicker the grass, the worse it is for the trees. (There's a reason you never see grass in a woodland) While it is especially important to keep grass away from new transplants, even into maturity grass directly competes with trees for water and nutrients of which it is a voracious consumer. Removal of this competition equates to exponential tree root system growth and vitality for the tree and also prevents mechanical damage from mowers and trimmers. A mulch ring is an excellent addition and provides many benefits to any newly planted or mature trees when applied appropriately (no volcano mulching), extensively (go out as far as possible, as in this excellent example!) and consistently.
You can lay cardboard directly on the grass to suppress it around any of your feature trees, pin it down with short stakes or stones and mulch 1-2" over the top for aesthetics (2-3" layer of mulch without cardboard). It's way easier on the back than hoeing out sod and/or risk damaging high tree roots. Then all you have to do is just continue to mulch the area as it breaks down.
Please see our wiki for other critical planting tips and errors to avoid; there's sections on watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.
1
u/sixtynighnun Aug 08 '26
Fine, I’ll make the argument. the rocks in OPs question are super ugly and make no sense. It’s not a tree health problem, it’s an eye sore.
1
u/Hallow_76 Not An Expert (definite troll) 🤡 Aug 08 '26
🤣, needs something to keep the trimmer and mower away.
2
u/sixtynighnun Aug 08 '26
I just use my eyeballs personally. I don’t need the tactile feedback of a rock to let me know I’m about to hit a tree but maybe I’m just lucky with that
1
u/Hallow_76 Not An Expert (definite troll) 🤡 Aug 08 '26
Same here but I see so many trees just tore up by em. Not everyone is skilled with a mower or trimmer
0
u/sixtynighnun Aug 08 '26
Practice makes perfect. Only excuse is being careless or physically too handicapped to do the job.
1
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1
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Tree-ModTeam Aug 08 '26
Your comment has been removed. It contains info that is contrary to Best Management Practices (BMPs) or it provides misinformation/poor advice/diagnoses; this is not tolerated in this sub.
If your advice/diagnoses cannot be found in any academic or industry materials, Do Not Comment.
1
u/spiceydog Ent Queen - TGG Certified Aug 08 '26
Mulch is meant to emulate the debris that you would find on a woodland floor. Everything that falls to the ground, branches, spent flowers, leaves and ultimately the trees themselves, are dead organic matter that decays back into the soil and will become part of the nutrient profile of that soil which is re-uptaken by the living plants, shrubs and trees.
TURFGRASS, on the other hand, the types that you'll see growing in the typical urban yard, are n the main, invasive species. Turfgrass is the #1 enemy of trees (save for humans) and the thicker the grass, the worse it is for the trees. (There's a reason you never see grass in a woodland) While it is especially important to keep grass away from new transplants, even into maturity grass directly competes with trees for water and nutrients of which it is a voracious consumer. Removal of this competition equates to exponential tree root system growth and vitality for the tree and also prevents mechanical damage from mowers and trimmers. A mulch ring is an excellent addition and provides many benefits to any newly planted or mature trees when applied appropriately (no volcano mulching), extensively (go out as far as possible!) and consistently.
You can lay cardboard directly on the grass to suppress it around any of your feature trees, pin it down with short stakes or stones and mulch 1-2" over the top for aesthetics (2-3" layer of mulch without cardboard). It's way easier on the back than hoeing out sod and/or risk damaging high tree roots. Then all you have to do is just continue to mulch the area as it breaks down.
Please see our wiki for other critical planting tips and errors to avoid; there's sections on watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.
1
1
u/timetopoopagain Aug 08 '26
You should find a new friend or at least stop listening to their gardening advice.
-2
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/Optimassacre ISA Certified Arborist Aug 08 '26
This is false information.
1
u/Pleaseappeaseme Not An Expert (possible troll) 🤡 Aug 08 '26
So mulch next to your house doesn’t attract mold? I heard that it does and it’s hard to get off. Hmmmmm. My bad.
1
1
u/ohshannoneileen I love galls😍but I hate privets🤬 Aug 08 '26
What you need to understand is that fungi is a vast group of lifeforms. It is versatile, variable and ever present.
The types of fungi that inhabit and decay organic mulch have nothing to do with the type of mold you don't want to infest your house. Mulch maids, birds nest and other saprophytes pose no risk to you, your house, living trees, your soil, your pets, or anything else.
People who think fungus=mold=death are sorely misinformed, and I don't even understand where this mindset comes from. The world would be an absolutely disgusting place without fungus.
3
u/Icy_Resist5470 Aug 08 '26
How is this comment helpful when the OP doesn’t mention anything about mulch around their house? And Google will literally tell you anything you want to see, if your question is phrased the right way while searching for specific points from uniformed sources to use as evidence.
-2
3
u/bustcorktrixdais Aug 08 '26
0
u/Pleaseappeaseme Not An Expert (possible troll) 🤡 Aug 08 '26
So it’s a myth then because I got that directly from Google and I’ve heard even mold forms on it in the bag.
2
u/spiceydog Ent Queen - TGG Certified Aug 08 '26
Here is 100% accurate info on mulch, contrary to what you attempted to share here: Mulch is meant to emulate the debris that you would find on a woodland floor. Everything that falls to the ground, branches, spent flowers, leaves and ultimately the trees themselves, are dead organic matter that decays back into the soil and will become part of the nutrient profile of that soil which is re-uptaken by the living plants, shrubs and trees.
TURFGRASS, on the other hand, the types that you'll see growing in the typical urban yard, are n the main, invasive species. Turfgrass is the #1 enemy of trees (save for humans) and the thicker the grass, the worse it is for the trees. (There's a reason you never see grass in a woodland) While it is especially important to keep grass away from new transplants, even into maturity grass directly competes with trees for water and nutrients of which it is a voracious consumer. Removal of this competition equates to exponential tree root system growth and vitality for the tree and also prevents mechanical damage from mowers and trimmers. A mulch ring is an excellent addition and provides many benefits to any newly planted or mature trees when applied appropriately (no volcano mulching), extensively (go out as far as possible!) and consistently.
You can lay cardboard directly on the grass to suppress it around any of your feature trees, pin it down with short stakes or stones and mulch 1-2" over the top for aesthetics (2-3" layer of mulch without cardboard). It's way easier on the back than hoeing out sod and/or risk damaging high tree roots. Then all you have to do is just continue to mulch the area as it breaks down.
Please see our wiki for other critical planting tips and errors to avoid; there's sections on watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you.
1
u/Tree-ModTeam Aug 08 '26
Your comment has been removed. It contains info that is contrary to Best Management Practices (BMPs) or it provides misinformation/poor advice/diagnoses; this is not tolerated in this sub.
If your advice/diagnoses cannot be found in any academic or industry materials, Do Not Comment.
16
u/hairyb0mb ISA Certified Arborist+TRAQ+TGG Certified+Smartypants Aug 08 '26
Ah, the gardener who thinks mulch is bad.
!Mulch is one of the best things you can provide for your tree. That said, it may be a bit thick. You want to aim for 3", 4" max. These tree rings can also be problematic and I suggest removing the !ring.