Love the shade? Make your tree happy by avoiding these three bone-headed mistakes
If you’ve read my columns over the years, you know I can have what some would describe as an odd sense of humor. Bear with me in this column as I attempt to approach a real issue negatively.
The issue is all the dumb things people do to kill their trees. We all want healthy, happy trees to grow big as quickly as possible. Here are a few things I have witnessed at the office that are detrimental to healthy trees.
The first way to kill your tree is to mulch up high and around the trunk of the tree. So-called volcano mulching seems to be the rage. Pile as much mulch as possible around the trunk and cover the lower foot or so of the trunk.
Why is volcano mulching bad? What happens to wood when it is constantly moist? It rots.
Piling mulch onto the bark or trunk of the tree can cause rot and decay, weakening and slowly killing the tree. When mulching, think about a tasty doughnut or bagel. Leave a hole or ring around the tree, then start the mulch out and away a few inches. Never pile the mulch deeper than 3 inches on the ground out and around the tree.
The second way to kill your tree quickly is to beat the lower trunk area to death with the lawn mower or string trimmer. Nothing will kill a tree quicker than severing the cambium or growth layer. The cambium layer is the vascular system of the tree. If you rip or tear through the cambium layer, water and nutrients cannot move up and down the tree. The result is a stressed tree that struggles to grow or a dead tree.
Never bump or cut into the main trunk of the tree. It is the lifeline for growth. A properly placed mulch ring around the tree is the best defense. The mulch helps act as a guide to keep the frame of the mower or trimmer string at a distance and from whipping or knocking off the bark. Be tolerant. A few blades of grass up next to the tree will not kill you.
As a bonus, a 3-to-4-foot ring of mulch around the tree void of grass will do wonders for the growth rate. In research studies comparing the growth of young trees with grass growing around them to mulched trees or bare soil, the trees without competition double in growth over a 10-year period.
Finally, another way to kill your tree is to wrap a cord around the trunk and forget about it. This includes dog chains, swing ropes or other tourniquet-like materials. As the tree grows and expands, the cord around the trunk acts as a choke, slowly girdles the cambium layer, and the tree dies.
Never wrap anything, even for a short term, around the trunk or even a side branch. It’s too easy to forget. Trees can expand rapidly, especially younger ones.
These are a few simple ways to kill your tree without even trying. Avoid doing dumb things, and pave the way to more beautiful, healthy and happy trees.
And remember, these are the things you should never do if you want your trees to be happy and healthy. Check out the section on our extension website under Lawn and Garden, Agent Articles, Trees and Shrubs for excellent and timely resources and tips on things you should do to care for your trees and shrubs.
Dennis Patton is a horticulture agent with Kansas State University Research and Extension. Need help? Contact the Johnson County Extension gardening hotline at 913-715-7050 or email garden.help@jocogov.org.