A homeowner on Reddit recently requested help after purchasing a home with a garden box around a 100-year-old maple tree.
While the tree had a "wonky" makeshift container made of old railroad ties, the new homeowner decided to build a new, more aesthetically pleasing garden box with wood. They also added rocks to the top to cover the soil.
However, after the homeowner put in the new box, a thought occurred to them that their new garden box could be doing more harm than good.
"Should I tear it out? Or is it okay to stay?" they asked. "Any help would be appreciated."
Users responded with a resounding call to free the tree.
"Remove the bench and rocks and expand your walkway border several feet away from the tree," one user commented. "This kills trees slowly so people don't get what happened."
A garden box or mulch volcano around the base of a tree can be harmful to its health and longevity in several ways.
Most tree roots grow in the top few inches of soil. This is because it is where oxygen is the most abundant, and much like humans, trees need to breathe, too.
If too much soil is around a tree's roots, they will grow up in search of oxygen. As a result, the roots will girdle, or grow around the trunk, slowly strangling the tree and leading to its death. Heavy rocks on a tree's roots hasten this process.
As the tree becomes weaker, it becomes more susceptible to disease, pests, rot, and falling. This can lead to more headaches for homeowners, who will have to contend with removing a sick tree or a fallen one. Plus, if it's close to a home or car, one can only imagine how much havoc a tree could wreak.
Creating a yard or garden that emulates how plants and trees grow without human intervention is always the best strategy for building a healthy and thriving ecosystem. Trees have grown for hundreds of millions of years, a majority of which without garden boxes, so why change it up now?
Natural yards are easy to care for, too. Native plant yards, for example, need little extra effort because the species have evolved to thrive in local soil and climate conditions. This means less time and money spent on chores such as weeding and watering.
Comments on the homeowner's post echoed sentiments to return the maple to its natural state, including many requests for a follow-up post to reassure users of the tree's future well-being.
"Remove it. ASAP!" one user said. "Free the tree!"
"Please post an unboxing video or picture," another person asked.
In response, the homeowner thanked users for their advice and assured them they would remove the garden box as soon as possible.
"I love this tree, and hope I can help it," they wrote.
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