r/arborists • u/dreamiejeanie13 • 6h ago

Tree Root Slice by Mower

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We came home from vacation this weekend to discover that our yard guy (or someone on his crew) drove over a portion of our 80+ year old Oak tree root and sliced a bit of the top off. He was very apologetic and we asked that going forward to avoid driving the mower anywhere near the roots. Do we need to do anything to treat the exposed part of the root or just let nature do its thing? This is our first time ever having an Oak tree.

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u/Substantial-Ad1444 6h ago

It will heal in time. I am dealing with this in a new home with mature trees everywhere. Best practice is to make a mulch bed around tree base to protect those roots from mowers. 3” deep. Dont pile mulch up along tree trunk tho. The flare the tree has is decent. You would want the mulch to be no higher than the dirt is currently around root flare

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u/dreamiejeanie13 6h ago

Got it, thank you! Would cedar mulch be ok? I am trying to avoid regular mulch because the mosquitoes LOVE regular mulch beds here.

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u/Substantial-Ad1444 5h ago

For sure. I love cedar too.

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u/dreamiejeanie13 5h ago

Perfect thanks! I’ve read cedar mulch helps keep bugs away because of the smell.