Unless you're a professional arborist or a gardener, caring for trees and plants can be difficult, especially when landscapers use methods that are proved to damage our green friends.
Mistakes such as using landscaping fabric and piling up "mulch volcanos" around trees do more harm than good. One Redditor posted a few pictures of the latter error. "Witnessed these monstrosities on the UW-Madison campus today," they captioned their post in the r/arborists subreddit.
They shared three pictures that show numerous trees with mulch piled high up their trunks.
"A college that large should have someone on staff who knows what the heck they're doing," one commenter wrote.
You would think that would be the case, but these types of mistakes are common.
If you're wondering what's so bad about these mulch piles, one commenter described it well. "The main volcano issue is rot. The root flare is stem tissue and is not adapted to being underground. Wet, organic matter decaying against it for years can cause the stem to rot and the tree can snap in half," they explained.
The root flare at the base of the trunk needs to be exposed. It's recommended to put about 3-4 inches of mulch covering a 4-5-foot diameter around the tree. However, you're supposed to pull the mulch a few inches away from the trunk, creating a "donut hole," according to The Morton Arboretum.
Homeowners often deal with this issue when previous owners or inexperienced landscape crews make the mistake that can kill the tree — and it's bad for the homeowner's bank account and environment.
Whether you're trying to save a dying tree, getting rid of one, or, even worse, having one fall and damage your home, managing mistakes such as mulch volcanos can cost a lot of money.
Plus, big, healthy trees can increase property value, so you want to take good care of them.
Trees also provide shade, which cools down your yard and home. According to the U.S. Forest Service, "Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30% and can save 20–50% in energy used for heating," per the Arbor Day Foundation.
Trees also provide food and shelter for countless critters and pull toxic carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, helping to cool down our planet.
On top of all that, trees can improve our moods. Forest bathing has health benefits, including decreasing stress and boosting your immune system.
"I work on a campus with awful mulch volcanos," one commenter wrote, adding that they contacted the grounds crew to get them to fix the problem but to no avail. "It's sad, our campus has beautiful trees."
"Super frustrating … Madison is FAMOUS for its natural science programs," another wrote. "So how do the trees end up like this?!"
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