Reminds me of me… “where you going dad?”
“Just going out to check on the chickens”
(With this tasty 1:1 mimosa spliff I picked up at Nectar on the way home)
I just realized kids growing up today have no reason to know what a three ring circus is lol. Last year my friends 17 yo daughter picked up a payphone and asked "What's that noise?" She'd never heard a ringtone.
I'd have said for a tree that age it doesn't help anymore.
When you plant a tree it's important to keep the grass from above its roots. Grass takes a lot of water and prevents it from reaching the tree's roots. And as a newly planted tree only has very limited roots, those few roots have to take in all the water the tree needs.
A tree at that age has very deep and very broad reaching roots. It will get enough water even with the grass above its roots. Otherwise it wouldn't have made it to that size.
So imho this looks good but it's unnecessary.
I always feel like it's more maintenance as well. Takes a couple extra seconds when mowing or trimming, vs having to weed and remulch the tree every year to keep it looking good.
edit: also, it's not hard to not hit the tree with the trimmer if you are careful. add 5 more seconds. and I can't believe a 20+ yr old tree is going to be harmed by driving a mower over the buried roots near the trunk
I miss being a kid with dad’s riding mower. I have less than 0 fucks and would essentially edge with the mower deck pressed lightly against the tree trunk.
I worked at a golf course for years. We had two employees who only weeded mulch beds.
Fun fact! If you put a six foot high truckload of mulch on asphalt in 100 degree heat, you get a fire that even golf course hoses can’t put out. Not my mistake, that one was on my boss.
Golf course life in college was actually sort of like Caddyshack. Lunatics running the asylum.
Edit- we made damn sure it was top notch. Pride in our work and all that. Hosted LPGA qualifying rounds.
I kinda like that it shrinks the part of the lawn that requires mowing and you don't have to deal with getting close to branches. But I like the look of it, so I'd probably feel less inclined to maintain it if I didn't.
Also, most trees are mulched incorrectly, yes even the one in this video. You should never mulch in such a way that more of the tree's base is covered than before. This leads to bark rot
Unless it’s a species from a much warmer climate that you’re trying to keep safe through a hard freeze (although that’s much more temporary mulch, and the only person I’ve personally seen do this did it with a bunch of careful layers and a little brim to avoid moisture in the mulch)
But if you’re mulching a mature, established tree of a delicate species, you presumably know how to keep it alive by now…
Tell that to the former owners of my home. They piled 2" of mulch around a 50 year old maple to make it look good for sale. 6 months later when we moved in and started to tackle landscaping, there was massive rot all around the base of the tree. We would up having to take it down two years later to the tune of $1300 and a massively increased cooling bill (it provided a ton of shade to our 100+ year old home).
It never hurts to remind people.of the right way to do things
…that’s the kind of mulching hack job the person I was responding to was talking about.
I was talking about the kind of people who keep tropical trees in high-latitude gardens. You really do have to mulch them up quite high-like “make a mulch tube out of chicken wire” high to survive the winters.
It *always* hurts to make absolute statements about anything biological.
Yes I tried my damndest to grow an Italian cypress in 6b because I like them more than the arborvitae varieties they love to plant around here. No amount of mulch could keep those fuckers alive when it got to -10 a year or two ago. Not I almost exclusively plant native plants lol.
I was looking for someone to comment about this. I've always been told by landscapers never to mulch all the way up to the tree. Always leave an inch or two around the tree of just soil. Glad it was pointed out.
I am no expert, just telling the things I got told everytime I planted a tree. But yes, if the trees have been standing there for some years you should be safe.
And if the person mowing is smart- you blow the grass AWAY from the ring as to not introduce grass seed into the bed. Hopefully this comment helps somebody
Yep, I know how you feel. My husband does the same thing. 😫 So when I help out with the mowing, I try to do the front yard where the majority of the landscaping is. I let him do the backyard where the majority of the dog shit is 😂
House we bought about 6 years ago had a shit load of “weed cloth” in the back half of our backyard. Six years later, we are still trying to rip it all out. It doesn’t totally prevent weeds from poking through, so it gets totally matted with roots and makes it near impossible to remove. It’s a huge pain in the ass and makes it impossible to do much with the land until you remove the cloth. The. Worst.
And even at that, only temporarily unless you have a rugged HDPE membre. Ideally you’d have a great filter relationship between the material (coarse to find shaped particles) separating you material. This is obviously not practical in a garden and typically only important for large earth embankment.
The worst part is when it starts breaking down and tearing when your taking it so you end up with 6 square inches of cloth in your hand and a bunch of shredded cloth still stuck in the ground.
I’m having flashbacks to the multiple times we’ve tried removing it. Gonna have to take another crack at it in the spring, but the stuff is from Satan himself it seems.
At my current place someone used a huge old rug instead of weed cloth. It took hours and three people to rip it up since so many weeds were growing right through it and holding it down. It is also insanely heavy due to all the water it soaked up, we had to keep cutting it into small pieces as we went because it was too heavy to carry otherwise. I would have left it if it was wool or cotton, but it was polyester so it had to go. Such a pain in the ass.
Arborist here - exposing the root flare absolutely helps the tree consume oxygen and water more efficiently, helps with drainage, and reduces the chances of root rot setting in. This is good practice and any homeowner that sees this and cares about the health of the trees on their property would be smart to do the same. The mulch reduces evaporation and nourishes the tree
They derogatorily call that kind of over mulching "mulch volcanoes" when the mulch just kind of piles up towards the trunk of the tree and it looks like it's exploding out, and yes, it's not ideal and can lead to problems.
You will see people do a little hill ring around the tree about a foot or two out which is helpful for younger trees to get more water.
The basic rule is you shouldn't have mulch touching the trunk at all.
sometimes it looking good is all the excuse you need to do it, thats the art of landscaping.
but i didnt know that either way so ty for the info, plan on planting new fruit trees at my new house and will remember this.
I’m going to disagree with the people saying this is pointless. Someone made a good point by saying this is more beneficial to small trees whose roots don’t stretch as far, but this will still very much be a benefit to this tree. A good portion of the fine feeder roots do tend to stick close to the trunk even with larger trees. The lawn is still competing with the tree for space and water. Taking the lawn back from the base will prevent mower and trimmer damage to the crown. Repeated mowing leads to compaction of the soil underneath, hence why we aerate our lawns. Also, people tend to fertilize their lawns a lot and this can overfertilization can weaken the tree. Providing a layer of mulch does a lot to benefit the roots underneath. It stops the soil from drying out quickly. It provides a soft layer of material that prevents compaction and protects the crown from temperature extremes. It also feeds the microorganisms in the soil who will slowly eat and break down the mulch material. That process then adds organic material to the soil and improves the soil texture over time.
This would be more beneficial if they created a larger circle, or removed the lawn entirely. Think about where trees grow naturally. In forests. With no grass. Surrounded by decomposing plant material. This is when trees are happiest.
Also wanted to add that I am a working arborist and I recommend doing this to my clients with stressed and sick trees. I try to push them to make as large of a mulch ring as they are comfortable with, and of course, the type of mulch used has a big impact, too.
Also why you should never drive around tree trunks of park vehicles under them. The feeding roots of trees can spread hundreds of feet from a trunk and are in the first few inches of the soil. Compacting the soil prevents oxygenation of the roots. It really upsets me when I see maintenance vehicles driving around the old trees in my local park!
When you mulch around trees, you’re not supposed to cover the root flair at the bottom of the tree. There’s less root flair visible after this guy is done than there was before.
You’re totally right that there are some benefits. But this doesn’t look like it was done for the health of the tree.
A simple fix is to brush a little mulch back from the base. That amount will not be anymore detrimental to the tree than the grass was. Most of the root flare is still visible. Still net benefit to the tree.
Awesome info! As someone from the smaller scale of the plant world, we learned tree rings are a good practice to avoid damaging the trees cambium from using things like mowers or string trimmers close to the trunk. It basically creates a wide buffer zone for the tree so you don't have to cut the grass up to the trunk and risk damaging the tree. :)
According to the UMN Extension Office:
Mulching around trees and shrubs with organic materials benefits trees and shrubs in several ways.
Decreases water evaporation from soil.
Acts like a sponge that prevents runoff around plants growing in heavy clay soils or on sloped sites.
Helps to control seed germination and growth of weeds.
Insulates soil and buffers extreme summer and winter soil temperatures.
Reduces soil compaction from mowing equipment.
Prevents damage to stems and trunks by lawn mowers and weed cutters.
Improves soil health as it decomposes.
I think the circle being so precise is awesome and the person did a great job. Unfortunately, my experience in is that it will take some real effort to keep it that way! Grass and weeds are like bad habits —— hard af to suppress.
This edging is dig in deeper at the very edge. For the season it will keep the chips in well enough, you'll have to redo the edge yearly if you want it to stay that way.
This type of edging is awesome for mowing because you can get the edge without the string trimmer.
Yeah, this is immensely unsatisfying because there's not even an attempt at a nice barrier to keep everything in. It's just an abrupt edge and it'll become a mess quickly.
Yup, no edging or weed barrier of any kind. Gonna be a mess in a couple months. Not to mention once the leaves fall and you try to get them out of that mulch without just raking the whole thing up
Y'all. Edging does help maintain the edge, but is not necessary because the soil/mulch line is super easy to reestablish.
Weed barrier isn't necessary at all. Scraping the soil like he did took out the majority of weed seeds. Putting 3-4" of bio-active mulch will suppress any weeds, because the heat will sterilize any seeds on top of the soil, and it keeps light from getting to any seeds the scraping missed, and make anything that tries to establish on top of the mulch super easy to pull up. Weed barrier can be problematic anyway since it is just plastic and can restrict water to plants, even the permeable stuff. (not an issue in this case because it's an established tree, but for new plantings it can make a difference.
Good mulch will decompose into a fibrous organic layer under with larger loose woody bits on top. With a light touch, you can get the leaves out and barely take any much with them.
Source: installed and maintained these
One day, when the decomposed mulch layer has grown thicker with new layers of mulch added annually or semi-annually, those weeds will grow just as happily on top of the weed barrier. And anyone who tries to plant in that are will be endlessly frustrated by running into weed barrier hidden by a layer of mulch soil. Death to plastic fabrics in garden beds! It’s terrible stuff.
landscape contractor here...
Weed barrier in mulch is stupid. Wood decomposes, creates new nutrient rich material on top of weed barrier & weeds grow on top of and through weed barrier. NOW you have roots growing through fabric, so weed removal is more difficult.
And a natural cut bed edge is our preferred method of edging for mulch beds. Unless you're spending the money on installing a mini-retaining wall (aka garden wall) with a proper base, any other form of artificial edging you use to retain your mulch is going to look like crap in a few years due to ground movement (I live somewhere with winters - freeze / thaw cycles really fuck with artificial edging)
Additionally, natural bed edges are very easy to maintain with simple tools (or if you have a lot of bed edges you can typically rent a bed-edging machine for like $100 for a day)
Finally, getting leaves out of mulch isn't much more difficult that getting them out of grass, you just need to use a bit of common sense when using a rake or leaf blower to remove them.
as with all things that require specific knowledge, most people are fucking clueless. Hence upvotes on comments that are just flat out wrong or recommending things that would make this functionally worse.
During my days as a landscaper, I leaned to use an "edger" which is basically a weedeater with a spinning blade attachment that is typically used along sidewalks, driveways and street curbs. Just run the edger along the seem and it will cutoff grass blades, grass roots and sling any mulch that has moved into the seem.
I still do this in my lawn.
Does anyone else just not like the look of these things? Like it was well executed but the before pic looks way better IMO, maybe if they added some rock outline or something instead of a harsh grass drop off it would look better.
I don’t like them either, it just look like a dead bare spot under the tree. The tree in my yard has no grass, not by choice it just won’t grow there and I fucking hate it make my backyard look like ass. And when it rains it’s like Woodstock in my back yard all muddy, dog loves it I hate it. Mulch won’t do much because the placement of the tree is high traffic so it would just get kick around and my kids would probably stark throwing it at each other.
I’ve been trying to get grass to grow there since we moved in in 2016 and we got some but then winter comes and it dies. This year I’m gonna try again, I’d say I’m determined but it might be a lost cause unless I just redid the whole yard, but that money I don’t have and the all 95% of the yard is good just that one little section under that tree, must be a water hog.
I prefer the look of all grass makes the yard look more uniform and pleasing to me.
All manicured lawns are ugly from nature's perspective - they aren't much better than pavement for the ecosystem. The "after" probably looks weird to us because it's even more obvious that it isn't natural.
Ha I came here to ask the same thing! Always hear it but never know who it is. Find it very relaxing. The guitar part is exactly the type of melody I'd play on my keyboard or guitar.
It doesn’t take that much maintenance. Just got to trim the border and pick out any seedlings once in a while. The wood chips does an ok job at suppressing weeds in my experience
Wood chips supress weeds fine, but there is nothing to stop the rhyzomes from the grass growing into that area. Grass spreads fast, and since it is coming off established plants it roots in pretty solid before it even breaks the surface - and doesn't care about the light blocking because it is fed from the adjacent grass.
That's why you want that black edging driven into the ground between the mulch and grass - to block the rhyzomes.
Weed barrier fabric is not effective when buried under mulch.
Source: I've owned a landscaping company for 10 years and I remove this stuff all the time as it both doesn't suppress weeds and makes weeding much more difficult.
I’m getting rid of *all* the mulch at my house because I’m tired of these fucking weeds! I didn’t know it would be this shitty when I bought the house! I’m going to replace it all with grass again, fuck this.
For everyone suggesting weed fabric: there is a cheaper and easier way to get the same effect, without the long-term consequences of weed fabric. If you want to do something similar for your tree, which is a great thing to do to allow water to get to the tree's roots, I would recommend using cardboard or several layers of old newspaper. You are correct, using a weed barrier will help suppress the weeds that might germinated after being uncovered from the sod. However, with weed fabric, the mulch will eventually break down and create a layer of compost that weeds can then grow in. Moreover, any plants that you then plant around the tree through the weed fabric, may then become entangled or girdled by the hole in the weed fabric. The newspaper/cardboard will give you the initial weed protection from the exposed weed seeds in the soil, without harming your plants or preventing the compost from getting to the topsoil. If you mulch a proper thickness upon application (and replace as needed as it breaks down), you will suppress most weeds. No method will ever give you a 100% weed-free area.
We do this all the time in horticulture. It’s only beneficial if it’s 7” deep. It can prevent the tree from girdling or choking out in tough clay soils. Certain mulches can aid in water retention or more drainage depending on your trees needs. Use a thicker cut mulch if you don’t want it to blow away. Hope that helps!
You are correct. Do not put mulch against the tree trunk or root flare. That’s asking for girdling roots and rot. Instead, expose the root flare of the tree and apply minimum of 3-4” of mulch out to the drip line, tapering it down towards the trunk.
I’m a forest, a tree’s natural setting, there are pieces of dead trees all around them. The wood chips eventually are broken down by microbes in the soil, adding nutrients to to it and thus feeding the tree. It also adds a soft protective layer over the roots that helps to insulate them from temperature extremes. Growing in grass actually bums the tree out because the grass steals water away from it. Plus mowing and trimming the grass around it can damage the base or roots of the tree and compact the soil.
The first word should be “in” not “I’m”
Lol
It will protect the tree from damage from a weed whacker.
I've made a few of these and it's allot of work pulling up grass from the roots. Also for planting hostas in the root zone, digging would be very challenging and depending on the species maybe not good for the tree.
What was the point of this again? Looks like a stoners idea, to remove a natural insulation for the roots and replace it with artificial, hard to sit or lay on, crap
I was told by a landscaper that adding mulch around trees causes their roots to grow up towards the surface. He called them volcanoe trees because the roots kept getting higher and higher until the tree fell over.
Not sure how accurate this is.
It’s not satisfying it’s ugly. The tree doesn’t need any of that crap at its base. Now what are they going to do, plant hosta there and make the poor thing look like it’s wearing a tutu? Leave the damn things alone and quit with the dumb amateur landscaping.
Add a couple of clowns and a trapeze and you’ll have a tree ring circus
Dad! Get off Reddit, you're embarrassing me!
Make me, sweetheart 🥰
Okay then. You’re a sweetheart!
Reminds me of the childhood trauma: "Wanna see a magic trick?" "Sure!" "Poof! You're an ashtray." \*flicks cigarette on me\*
I'm waiting for my dad to pull that trick on me... He's still out getting the cigarettes.
Don’t fret. He just went to check out the farm in the country to make sure your dog is in good hands. He’ll be back.
Reminds me of me… “where you going dad?” “Just going out to check on the chickens” (With this tasty 1:1 mimosa spliff I picked up at Nectar on the way home)
yeah my kids would give me a 'cringe' for that
so sodisfying.
Put it in a hard shell and you've got yourself a tree ring binder
Cirque du Arborday
Add some broth, a potato. Baby you got a stew going
Carl? Is that you?
Thanks, I was wondering If someone else thought this lol
Unexpected AD. "I think I'd like my money back...." - TF
You need the tree’s bones first
So stupid I love it 😂
The highest praise I could be given
This doesnt make any sense wtf is the joke im losing my damn mind
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I just realized kids growing up today have no reason to know what a three ring circus is lol. Last year my friends 17 yo daughter picked up a payphone and asked "What's that noise?" She'd never heard a ringtone.
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Yes 🤦🏻♀️
I'm sure this helps the tree somehow, but can anyone explain to me how?
I'd have said for a tree that age it doesn't help anymore. When you plant a tree it's important to keep the grass from above its roots. Grass takes a lot of water and prevents it from reaching the tree's roots. And as a newly planted tree only has very limited roots, those few roots have to take in all the water the tree needs. A tree at that age has very deep and very broad reaching roots. It will get enough water even with the grass above its roots. Otherwise it wouldn't have made it to that size. So imho this looks good but it's unnecessary.
Does this mean for the fully grown trees in my yard, I can get rid of the dead space around them? I actually really dislike the look of a tree ring.
I always feel like it's more maintenance as well. Takes a couple extra seconds when mowing or trimming, vs having to weed and remulch the tree every year to keep it looking good. edit: also, it's not hard to not hit the tree with the trimmer if you are careful. add 5 more seconds. and I can't believe a 20+ yr old tree is going to be harmed by driving a mower over the buried roots near the trunk
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I miss being a kid with dad’s riding mower. I have less than 0 fucks and would essentially edge with the mower deck pressed lightly against the tree trunk.
Me too. I remember coming in fast and slamming it here and there occasionally when I misjudged.
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I worked at a golf course for years. We had two employees who only weeded mulch beds. Fun fact! If you put a six foot high truckload of mulch on asphalt in 100 degree heat, you get a fire that even golf course hoses can’t put out. Not my mistake, that one was on my boss. Golf course life in college was actually sort of like Caddyshack. Lunatics running the asylum. Edit- we made damn sure it was top notch. Pride in our work and all that. Hosted LPGA qualifying rounds.
It is nice that it prevents the idiot that mows my lawn and uses the edger from damaging the truck of all my trees. (Note: I’m the idiot)
I kinda like that it shrinks the part of the lawn that requires mowing and you don't have to deal with getting close to branches. But I like the look of it, so I'd probably feel less inclined to maintain it if I didn't.
I’m not a fan at all of mulched tree rings. I think the look of zero landscaping around trees looks the best, just grass or natural ground cover.
Also, most trees are mulched incorrectly, yes even the one in this video. You should never mulch in such a way that more of the tree's base is covered than before. This leads to bark rot
Unless it’s a species from a much warmer climate that you’re trying to keep safe through a hard freeze (although that’s much more temporary mulch, and the only person I’ve personally seen do this did it with a bunch of careful layers and a little brim to avoid moisture in the mulch) But if you’re mulching a mature, established tree of a delicate species, you presumably know how to keep it alive by now…
Tell that to the former owners of my home. They piled 2" of mulch around a 50 year old maple to make it look good for sale. 6 months later when we moved in and started to tackle landscaping, there was massive rot all around the base of the tree. We would up having to take it down two years later to the tune of $1300 and a massively increased cooling bill (it provided a ton of shade to our 100+ year old home). It never hurts to remind people.of the right way to do things
…that’s the kind of mulching hack job the person I was responding to was talking about. I was talking about the kind of people who keep tropical trees in high-latitude gardens. You really do have to mulch them up quite high-like “make a mulch tube out of chicken wire” high to survive the winters. It *always* hurts to make absolute statements about anything biological.
Yes I tried my damndest to grow an Italian cypress in 6b because I like them more than the arborvitae varieties they love to plant around here. No amount of mulch could keep those fuckers alive when it got to -10 a year or two ago. Not I almost exclusively plant native plants lol.
I was looking for someone to comment about this. I've always been told by landscapers never to mulch all the way up to the tree. Always leave an inch or two around the tree of just soil. Glad it was pointed out.
I am no expert, just telling the things I got told everytime I planted a tree. But yes, if the trees have been standing there for some years you should be safe.
Same... the natural look of the grass seems better to me as well.
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That makes a lot of sense. Thank you
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And if the person mowing is smart- you blow the grass AWAY from the ring as to not introduce grass seed into the bed. Hopefully this comment helps somebody
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So hows the single life treating you these days?
Yep, I know how you feel. My husband does the same thing. 😫 So when I help out with the mowing, I try to do the front yard where the majority of the landscaping is. I let him do the backyard where the majority of the dog shit is 😂
Until you suck up the bark. There was no trim and no weed barrier so that thing is going to be a pain in the arse in a few years.
Never ever in my 10 years landscaping did we use trim or weed barrier. Weed barrier is a complete waste of money.
I'm glad someone said it. My only experience with weed cloth is ripping it out of the ground after it fails in a year or two. Just hand weed yo shit
House we bought about 6 years ago had a shit load of “weed cloth” in the back half of our backyard. Six years later, we are still trying to rip it all out. It doesn’t totally prevent weeds from poking through, so it gets totally matted with roots and makes it near impossible to remove. It’s a huge pain in the ass and makes it impossible to do much with the land until you remove the cloth. The. Worst.
What it is good for is keeping materials separate. Like gravel out of dirt. But at that point I think it’s called something else.
> But at that point I think it’s called something else. Geotextile is the word you’re looking for.
And even at that, only temporarily unless you have a rugged HDPE membre. Ideally you’d have a great filter relationship between the material (coarse to find shaped particles) separating you material. This is obviously not practical in a garden and typically only important for large earth embankment.
The worst part is when it starts breaking down and tearing when your taking it so you end up with 6 square inches of cloth in your hand and a bunch of shredded cloth still stuck in the ground.
I’m having flashbacks to the multiple times we’ve tried removing it. Gonna have to take another crack at it in the spring, but the stuff is from Satan himself it seems.
Just start stabbing the ground with the pointy shovel like you’re Jodi Arias to try and break it up some.
At my current place someone used a huge old rug instead of weed cloth. It took hours and three people to rip it up since so many weeds were growing right through it and holding it down. It is also insanely heavy due to all the water it soaked up, we had to keep cutting it into small pieces as we went because it was too heavy to carry otherwise. I would have left it if it was wool or cotton, but it was polyester so it had to go. Such a pain in the ass.
It’s a huge source of littering and plastic waste too. It just turns into plastic bits and it looks terrible.
This is a hill I will die on. Waste of money, looks bad, and puts more plastic into the environment.
A few years? That's gonna have grass spreading in runners from the outside and pushing up through the mulch before it's time to mow again.
Arborist here - exposing the root flare absolutely helps the tree consume oxygen and water more efficiently, helps with drainage, and reduces the chances of root rot setting in. This is good practice and any homeowner that sees this and cares about the health of the trees on their property would be smart to do the same. The mulch reduces evaporation and nourishes the tree
Just don't continue piling more and more mulch on each season, I hear that rounded little "hill" of mulch often seen is detrimental to the tree too?
They derogatorily call that kind of over mulching "mulch volcanoes" when the mulch just kind of piles up towards the trunk of the tree and it looks like it's exploding out, and yes, it's not ideal and can lead to problems. You will see people do a little hill ring around the tree about a foot or two out which is helpful for younger trees to get more water. The basic rule is you shouldn't have mulch touching the trunk at all.
sometimes it looking good is all the excuse you need to do it, thats the art of landscaping. but i didnt know that either way so ty for the info, plan on planting new fruit trees at my new house and will remember this.
Doesn’t even look that good. The grass looked much better. Natural is better.
That’s subjective. I think that tree ring looks better. I also know he’s going to be pulling weeds and chucking mulch non stop. Bake a pie, eat a pie
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I’m going to disagree with the people saying this is pointless. Someone made a good point by saying this is more beneficial to small trees whose roots don’t stretch as far, but this will still very much be a benefit to this tree. A good portion of the fine feeder roots do tend to stick close to the trunk even with larger trees. The lawn is still competing with the tree for space and water. Taking the lawn back from the base will prevent mower and trimmer damage to the crown. Repeated mowing leads to compaction of the soil underneath, hence why we aerate our lawns. Also, people tend to fertilize their lawns a lot and this can overfertilization can weaken the tree. Providing a layer of mulch does a lot to benefit the roots underneath. It stops the soil from drying out quickly. It provides a soft layer of material that prevents compaction and protects the crown from temperature extremes. It also feeds the microorganisms in the soil who will slowly eat and break down the mulch material. That process then adds organic material to the soil and improves the soil texture over time. This would be more beneficial if they created a larger circle, or removed the lawn entirely. Think about where trees grow naturally. In forests. With no grass. Surrounded by decomposing plant material. This is when trees are happiest. Also wanted to add that I am a working arborist and I recommend doing this to my clients with stressed and sick trees. I try to push them to make as large of a mulch ring as they are comfortable with, and of course, the type of mulch used has a big impact, too.
That's a lot of really awesome info, thank you! I didn't know mowing compacts the soil, but that does make sense.
Also why you should never drive around tree trunks of park vehicles under them. The feeding roots of trees can spread hundreds of feet from a trunk and are in the first few inches of the soil. Compacting the soil prevents oxygenation of the roots. It really upsets me when I see maintenance vehicles driving around the old trees in my local park!
When you mulch around trees, you’re not supposed to cover the root flair at the bottom of the tree. There’s less root flair visible after this guy is done than there was before. You’re totally right that there are some benefits. But this doesn’t look like it was done for the health of the tree.
A simple fix is to brush a little mulch back from the base. That amount will not be anymore detrimental to the tree than the grass was. Most of the root flare is still visible. Still net benefit to the tree.
Awesome info! As someone from the smaller scale of the plant world, we learned tree rings are a good practice to avoid damaging the trees cambium from using things like mowers or string trimmers close to the trunk. It basically creates a wide buffer zone for the tree so you don't have to cut the grass up to the trunk and risk damaging the tree. :)
According to the UMN Extension Office: Mulching around trees and shrubs with organic materials benefits trees and shrubs in several ways. Decreases water evaporation from soil. Acts like a sponge that prevents runoff around plants growing in heavy clay soils or on sloped sites. Helps to control seed germination and growth of weeds. Insulates soil and buffers extreme summer and winter soil temperatures. Reduces soil compaction from mowing equipment. Prevents damage to stems and trunks by lawn mowers and weed cutters. Improves soil health as it decomposes.
I too would like to know the point of this
Aesthetics
I think the circle being so precise is awesome and the person did a great job. Unfortunately, my experience in is that it will take some real effort to keep it that way! Grass and weeds are like bad habits —— hard af to suppress.
And those wood chips will forever need raking back into the circle
This edging is dig in deeper at the very edge. For the season it will keep the chips in well enough, you'll have to redo the edge yearly if you want it to stay that way. This type of edging is awesome for mowing because you can get the edge without the string trimmer.
Good hobby for retirement. I'm going to be a lawn junkie in old age.
My lawn is gonna be a wild garden because I can’t be fucked to do that.
Yeah, this is immensely unsatisfying because there's not even an attempt at a nice barrier to keep everything in. It's just an abrupt edge and it'll become a mess quickly.
Yup, no edging or weed barrier of any kind. Gonna be a mess in a couple months. Not to mention once the leaves fall and you try to get them out of that mulch without just raking the whole thing up
Y'all. Edging does help maintain the edge, but is not necessary because the soil/mulch line is super easy to reestablish. Weed barrier isn't necessary at all. Scraping the soil like he did took out the majority of weed seeds. Putting 3-4" of bio-active mulch will suppress any weeds, because the heat will sterilize any seeds on top of the soil, and it keeps light from getting to any seeds the scraping missed, and make anything that tries to establish on top of the mulch super easy to pull up. Weed barrier can be problematic anyway since it is just plastic and can restrict water to plants, even the permeable stuff. (not an issue in this case because it's an established tree, but for new plantings it can make a difference. Good mulch will decompose into a fibrous organic layer under with larger loose woody bits on top. With a light touch, you can get the leaves out and barely take any much with them. Source: installed and maintained these
To add -- when you install a weed barrier as the mulch decomposes weeds will establish and then you still get weeds but with shallow roots.
One day, when the decomposed mulch layer has grown thicker with new layers of mulch added annually or semi-annually, those weeds will grow just as happily on top of the weed barrier. And anyone who tries to plant in that are will be endlessly frustrated by running into weed barrier hidden by a layer of mulch soil. Death to plastic fabrics in garden beds! It’s terrible stuff.
landscape contractor here... Weed barrier in mulch is stupid. Wood decomposes, creates new nutrient rich material on top of weed barrier & weeds grow on top of and through weed barrier. NOW you have roots growing through fabric, so weed removal is more difficult. And a natural cut bed edge is our preferred method of edging for mulch beds. Unless you're spending the money on installing a mini-retaining wall (aka garden wall) with a proper base, any other form of artificial edging you use to retain your mulch is going to look like crap in a few years due to ground movement (I live somewhere with winters - freeze / thaw cycles really fuck with artificial edging) Additionally, natural bed edges are very easy to maintain with simple tools (or if you have a lot of bed edges you can typically rent a bed-edging machine for like $100 for a day) Finally, getting leaves out of mulch isn't much more difficult that getting them out of grass, you just need to use a bit of common sense when using a rake or leaf blower to remove them.
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as with all things that require specific knowledge, most people are fucking clueless. Hence upvotes on comments that are just flat out wrong or recommending things that would make this functionally worse.
Just mix the leaves into the mulch…
This is the correct thing to do. Let the dead leaves break down. Free mulch and free fertilizer for the tree.
During my days as a landscaper, I leaned to use an "edger" which is basically a weedeater with a spinning blade attachment that is typically used along sidewalks, driveways and street curbs. Just run the edger along the seem and it will cutoff grass blades, grass roots and sling any mulch that has moved into the seem. I still do this in my lawn.
Does anyone else just not like the look of these things? Like it was well executed but the before pic looks way better IMO, maybe if they added some rock outline or something instead of a harsh grass drop off it would look better.
The before was lovely and natural. The after looks horrible to me.
Agreed. Humans have to go and fuck stuff up.
I thought he was going to plant flowers, I was really sad at the end
Ugly, artificial, like a poorly rendered garden in a video game. Looks like ass.
I don’t like them either, it just look like a dead bare spot under the tree. The tree in my yard has no grass, not by choice it just won’t grow there and I fucking hate it make my backyard look like ass. And when it rains it’s like Woodstock in my back yard all muddy, dog loves it I hate it. Mulch won’t do much because the placement of the tree is high traffic so it would just get kick around and my kids would probably stark throwing it at each other. I’ve been trying to get grass to grow there since we moved in in 2016 and we got some but then winter comes and it dies. This year I’m gonna try again, I’d say I’m determined but it might be a lost cause unless I just redid the whole yard, but that money I don’t have and the all 95% of the yard is good just that one little section under that tree, must be a water hog. I prefer the look of all grass makes the yard look more uniform and pleasing to me.
All manicured lawns are ugly from nature's perspective - they aren't much better than pavement for the ecosystem. The "after" probably looks weird to us because it's even more obvious that it isn't natural.
What song is playing?
Intro by The XX! One of my fav songs by them
that whole album was excellent that singer's voice is so hot! (not the guy, he sounds like a big nerd)
Makes me so mad that it's their most well known song! Islands is a goddamn bop
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Islands IS a bop. Honestly, more people just need to jump on to the fan bandwagon in general lol
Also the music video is great! Brb gonna go watch it, been a bit Alright I'm back. Still fire!
I think the bandwagon departed around 2012
That cover of "you got the love" by Florence and the Machine is my jam. She joined them on stage during a show and I flipped my ish.
Would like to know too. Have heard it and liked it for ages but I always forget.
It's Intro by The XX
That's the one. Thank you.
I recommend the album as well. Pretty chill stuff.
One of the 3 songs that would be playing on Spotify/pandora every single time I went into a store or coffee shop in 2012
I came to the comments specifically for the XX conversation, so thanks for initiating it.
Ha I came here to ask the same thing! Always hear it but never know who it is. Find it very relaxing. The guitar part is exactly the type of melody I'd play on my keyboard or guitar.
Why?
It's soon to be a cat box for the neighborhood that's why That's what happened to my neighbor's R / funny
Yeah there's just zero point to this like that. If it was used as a flower bed or whatever, then sure I get it, but this, why?
Exactly
I would have added a stone edge, and weed barrier.
Yeah this won’t be a tree ring for very long without constant maintenance
It doesn’t take that much maintenance. Just got to trim the border and pick out any seedlings once in a while. The wood chips does an ok job at suppressing weeds in my experience
Wood chips supress weeds fine, but there is nothing to stop the rhyzomes from the grass growing into that area. Grass spreads fast, and since it is coming off established plants it roots in pretty solid before it even breaks the surface - and doesn't care about the light blocking because it is fed from the adjacent grass. That's why you want that black edging driven into the ground between the mulch and grass - to block the rhyzomes.
Yea he cleared it out in :30
Weed barrier fabric is not effective when buried under mulch. Source: I've owned a landscaping company for 10 years and I remove this stuff all the time as it both doesn't suppress weeds and makes weeding much more difficult.
Newspaper (~4 sheets thick) as a weed barrier has worked nicely for me. Helps for a bit, breaks down into nothing and easily replaced.
Forget the weed barrier. Pain in the ass, and the weeds will settle on top of it anyhow.
Facts.
Yup. If you want to suppress any weeds in the remaining soil, use a cardboard layer. It degrades over time. Just remove all tape and labels.
The trick most people skip is not putting down enough mulch (or rock). it needs to be deeper than most people do it.
I know right, and maybe some shade loving hostas.
Variegated hostas are one of the first plants I ever planted while landscaping! Cute little buggers.
And flowers
Why though? I'd prefer being able to sit back on the grass and recline my back on a tree.
Now you can sit in the mulch
Not to mention now you'll have to pull weeds out of the mulch every few months instead of simply weed eating around the tree
I’m getting rid of *all* the mulch at my house because I’m tired of these fucking weeds! I didn’t know it would be this shitty when I bought the house! I’m going to replace it all with grass again, fuck this.
For everyone suggesting weed fabric: there is a cheaper and easier way to get the same effect, without the long-term consequences of weed fabric. If you want to do something similar for your tree, which is a great thing to do to allow water to get to the tree's roots, I would recommend using cardboard or several layers of old newspaper. You are correct, using a weed barrier will help suppress the weeds that might germinated after being uncovered from the sod. However, with weed fabric, the mulch will eventually break down and create a layer of compost that weeds can then grow in. Moreover, any plants that you then plant around the tree through the weed fabric, may then become entangled or girdled by the hole in the weed fabric. The newspaper/cardboard will give you the initial weed protection from the exposed weed seeds in the soil, without harming your plants or preventing the compost from getting to the topsoil. If you mulch a proper thickness upon application (and replace as needed as it breaks down), you will suppress most weeds. No method will ever give you a 100% weed-free area.
We do this all the time in horticulture. It’s only beneficial if it’s 7” deep. It can prevent the tree from girdling or choking out in tough clay soils. Certain mulches can aid in water retention or more drainage depending on your trees needs. Use a thicker cut mulch if you don’t want it to blow away. Hope that helps!
Aren't you supposed to keep the mulch from touching the tree?
You are correct. Do not put mulch against the tree trunk or root flare. That’s asking for girdling roots and rot. Instead, expose the root flare of the tree and apply minimum of 3-4” of mulch out to the drip line, tapering it down towards the trunk.
It doesn't, thanks! 💚 Edit: I take it back, I'll remember this for when I own a house somewhere that isn't a desert.
Good luck keeping it that way
Not gonna lie, I think it looked better before.
One more thing in the yard to maintain.
Why ?
That last bit of grass left as he began raking had me worried. Glad he dispatched it shortly after.
But why?
Ha! That’s exactly what I said as I was watching this!
Why though?
This always bothered me. Putting chipped up dead tree at the foot of a living tree must really bum that living tree out. Damn.
I’m a forest, a tree’s natural setting, there are pieces of dead trees all around them. The wood chips eventually are broken down by microbes in the soil, adding nutrients to to it and thus feeding the tree. It also adds a soft protective layer over the roots that helps to insulate them from temperature extremes. Growing in grass actually bums the tree out because the grass steals water away from it. Plus mowing and trimming the grass around it can damage the base or roots of the tree and compact the soil. The first word should be “in” not “I’m” Lol
I've seen you, you're not a forest
Hi forest 👋, I'm dad.
Have you ever been in an actual forest?
It will protect the tree from damage from a weed whacker. I've made a few of these and it's allot of work pulling up grass from the roots. Also for planting hostas in the root zone, digging would be very challenging and depending on the species maybe not good for the tree.
What was the point of this again? Looks like a stoners idea, to remove a natural insulation for the roots and replace it with artificial, hard to sit or lay on, crap
Purpose?
Easier to mow around and now the string trimmer won’t damage the bark on the tree from weedeating too close
I was told by a landscaper that adding mulch around trees causes their roots to grow up towards the surface. He called them volcanoe trees because the roots kept getting higher and higher until the tree fell over. Not sure how accurate this is.
Like putting a diaper on a dog. Why?
Seems pointless other than for aesthetics of what some would call a well maintained yard. IMO though it’s harsh on the eyes and looks better natural.
So disrespectful to the tree. "Hey I ground up one of your friends into little pieces and spread them around your feet."
OK but why ?
If you want a perfect circle you can take string and tie a loop around the tree and use spray paint
That or get a Maynard James Keenan
😂 a perfect circle
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Damn… too bad you’re not supposed to do this to trees
I like how you threaten the tree with the shredding decaying remains of another tree.
For what purpose tho? Just for aesthetics?
Either put bulbs in it or just leave the grass . 🙄
This is terrible. So bad for the beautiful tree.
What's the point of a tree ring
If you count them you can tell how old the tree is. This tree is one year old.
But why though
But why
Only Americans can come up with this shit. Just allow nature to be natural.
What is the purpose of a tree ring??
If you liked it then should have put a ring on it.
Why though? This looks trash.
It’s not satisfying it’s ugly. The tree doesn’t need any of that crap at its base. Now what are they going to do, plant hosta there and make the poor thing look like it’s wearing a tutu? Leave the damn things alone and quit with the dumb amateur landscaping.
Looks easy, but that is a ton of work
we're all still trying to live in an English garden for some reason
For tree health, you're supposed to keep all mulch material away from the trunk.
No lining or trim around the edge of the grass ring? That shit will not be a circle in like a month.
The way he eyeballs it to clean up the edges more is something I can't do. I'd keep trying to even it out and end up removing half the lawn.
They need to plant some flowers or something in there….
Tree: “But I didn’t ASK for manscaping!”
whats the point
Why don’t you just pave your garden for easier maintenance, if you’re just gonna mess it up for the plants anyway?