This practice kills trees. Mulch should be no more than 3″ inches deep when first installed. As it settles it will eventually be about 1.5″ thick and as it begins to rot it slowly becomes a thin organic layer.
Correct mulching is essential for developing a healthy tree. Piling the mulch around the base just causes trouble. The bark becomes soft and loses its natural ability to prevent fungal and bacterial pathogens from penetrating and attacking the wood beneath. This results in slow decline of the tree because of the deterioration of the xylem and phloem. These tissues are the tree’s plumbing which deliver water and nutrients to to the branches and leaves as well as transporting the food manufactured by the leaves to the roots.
If you have been volcano mulching, by correcting the error of your ways, you may still be able to save your tree!
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