A homeowner had a landscaping question that was met with warnings from the tree and gardening community.
In the r/arborists subreddit, a person shared a photo of their front yard that has several small trees, each with a mulch bed bordered by a metal ring to contain the material.
"Would it hurt the trees to remove the mulch and make the tree ring level with the ground and let grass grow after removing the border?" they asked in their caption.
People in the comments thankfully chimed in with some occasionally stern advice.
"The answer to the question asked is no," one person wrote.
Others went into more detail as to why it wouldn't help, like one person who explained, "Mulch rings conserve moisture, prevent mechanical damage from string trimmers and lawn mowers, break down and add to the soil layers. Every yard tree should be lucky enough to have one."
"Keep the mulch, ditch the metal ring. You want to keep the grass away from the base of the tree and the size of the mulch rings looks really good how it is," added another.
As many pointed out, mulch is an excellent addition to any planting projects you may have, especially if it's a natural variety that will break down and add nutrients to the soil over time.
Another great way to help your yard's soil is by switching to a native lawn. Opting for things like clover, buffalo grass, or other plants and grasses native to your area helps save you time and money on lawn maintenance, including gas for lawn mowers and fertilizers and weed killers that can leach chemicals into the soil.
Native plants conserve water in two ways, as Lawn Love explained. The first is that they simply require less watering than non-native plants, as they are suited to the local ecosystem. The second way is by reducing runoff, which often transports chemicals from pesticides and other sources like driveways and roads into the water system when it goes down the drain.
Taking the best care possible of your lawn aesthetically and environmentally are not mutually exclusive goals, and rewilding your lawn with native plants is the way to go to achieve both.
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
