A concerned homeowner learned their trees were suffering from two infamous pitfalls after consulting Reddit on what was plaguing them.
They shared some photos of the carnage in their lawn to the r/arborists subreddit. Their post title asked the community to tell them what was wrong with their trees and disclosed "they looked dead until 4 weeks ago."
It didn't take long for an answer. A Redditor immediately called out one definite culprit — the omnipresence of the "wild mulch volcano[es]" surrounding each tree. The rest of the community agreed, and many identified another problematic factor for the trees. That would be herbicide damage that likely emerged from elsewhere in their yard.
Unfortunately for the original poster, the community had little hope for their trees' ability to recover.
"They ain't coming back," one user predicted. Another called them "dead men walking." While it might be a hard lesson learned for the Redditor, they are far from alone in falling prey to the perils of mulch volcanoes and herbicides.
Despite their detrimental effects on trees, mulch volcanoes are frustratingly common. Perhaps with the best of intentions, homeowners and landscapers lay down excessive mulch to add nutrients and allow the trees to compete better with nearby grass. But too much mulch, like in this example, can dehydrate the trees, deny them oxygen, or alternatively lock moisture against them and cause decay. Instead, the tree's root flares should be exposed and visible.
Herbicides, like glyphosate used in weed killer Roundup, can also spell doom for trees if runoff from the lawn reaches them. Homeowners should be very judicious or cautious in their use of them, or consider alternatives to grass like native plants and rewilding their lawn. That can come with other benefits, like attracting pollinators to their lawn and saving time, money and water on yard work.
The Reddit community was all for the original poster giving it another go with some valuable lessons learned.
One user gave an especially detailed and comprehensive guide on how to proceed, down to exact measurements with composting, mulching, and planting the tree roots.
🗣️ What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard?
🔘 Mowing the lawn 🏡
🔘 Controlling weeds 🌿
🔘 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️
🔘 I don't have a yard 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Another community member kept it simpler with some top-line instructions: "Remove and replace. Plant properly. Mulch properly. And avoid herbicides."
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