Buying a home can come with all sorts of unforeseen problems. For example, one new homeowner discovered something they had never heard of before — a dreaded "mulch volcano" — and turned to the r/arborists subreddit for advice.
"I didn't even know what a mulch volcano was when we bought this house," the poster wrote, wondering if their two heavily mulched trees were already a lost cause.
"Scared to remove any more dirt as it seems very compacted and I don't want to cause damage. I don't think anything fully encircles the trunk but we have no idea how long it has had to live under the mulch and the fabric, possibly years. … We moved in a few weeks ago, I love this tree."
As the new homeowner now knows, the term "mulch volcano" refers to the popular (but ill-advised) landscaping trend of tightly packing a pile of mulch around the base of a tree. While it is, in theory, supposed to help protect the base of the tree trunk, in practice, it does the opposite.
For one thing, mulch volcanoes cause girdling, or "tree asphyxiation," where the roots grow up into the mulch and wrap themselves around the trunk instead of going down into the ground like they are supposed to.
The excess mulch also traps moisture, causing rot that leaves the tree vulnerable to fungi and disease.
As the other members of the r/arborists subreddit were quick to point out, some of these problems had already taken root with the original poster's trees.
"Look at the root zone there isn't likely anything you can do about the already girdling roots. Realistically you can only properly mulch it and provide it with adequate water. It will likely begin to die back from these roots, but who knows when that will be. Right now the canopy looks healthy so just enjoy it," one commenter advised.
Whether or not this homeowner will be able to save their inherited trees, they have certainly already learned a lot about correct mulching methods, which should aid them in their future efforts.
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