In an unfortunate turn of events, the landscaping team that a homeowner hired accidentally damaged one of their mature trees, casting doubt as to whether or not it would survive the encounter.
Photos of the damage — a large gash at the base of the tree — were posted on the subreddit r/Arborists. The person posting them wrote: "Landscapers accidently hit this Ash tree of my father's with a saw and damaged it near the base, is this a death sentence for our mechanic's shade tree? Is there anything we can do here to help?"
The photos also show the tree surrounded by gravel stones on all sides; the original poster explained that their parents had also installed new cement and new rock.
Perhaps surprisingly, the commenters who chimed in with answers and advice weren't concerned about the gash.
"Not a death sentence. Nothing to be done to help it other than keeping it healthy. Routine watering," one person wrote. "Just let the tree heal naturally."
However, commenters were more skeptical about another aspect of the tree's situation: the gravel and the cement.
"The tree will recover from the damage. It will not recover from the new landscaping," one person said. "That's horrific for trees."
Many gardeners, and even professional landscapers, use gravel liberally in their landscaping, but still more have warned about the risks it presents.
There are many reasons for this. Since rock retains heat, gravel often ends up absorbing too much warmth from the sun, scorching plants and tree roots. It also blocks the flow of oxygen to and from the roots, particularly the exposed ones at the base of the tree — which can be deadly to a tree. This is the same reason that people are so adamant about not using mulch volcanoes, which similarly block off the base of a tree and leave it gasping for air.
Instead, the more effective — not to mention the more beautiful — trick to landscaping around trees is simply to let native plants grow and thrive or to opt for a natural, noninvasive ground cover like clover.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
