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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:12 am 
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Photos taken on Scott Blvd south of Main Street.

Who knows when or where this first happened but it's said that it first started in the 70's, when someone piled mulch up high around the trees trunk and formed a cone. Well,,,, now Arborist's all across North America are driving down roads, cringing as they see hundreds, if not thousands trees wrapped tightly in these "tree volcanoes".

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Mulching around a tree can be a good thing -

1 - it keeps weeds away from the tree.
2 - it prevents grass growing under the tree that will compete for nutrients.
3 - it keeps weed trimmers and other equipment away from the tree.
4 - it helps prevent soil erosion and runoff.
5 - it keeps the roots cooler in summer and warmer in winter.
6 - it postpones freezing of the soil.
7 - it adds nutrients to the soil if it is organic mulch.
8 - it can improve the soil around the tree.
9 - it helps keep moisture in for the roots.
and 10 - it gives the yard a well-maintained appearance.

BUT- in nature trees grow up and out of the ground from the trees "root flair" and where the mulch volcano extends up and covers the flair and tree trunk, moisture will damage the tree by causing cracks in the bark. The cracks serve an entry points for fungus, disease, rot, and insects. When you water the tree, it runs off the sides of the volcano instead of penetrating down to the roots. The volcano can keep oxygen from reaching the roots of the tree, suffocating them. Tree roots often grow up into the mulch in search of what they need instead of growing deep into the ground for permanent sources of moisture.

Many of these trees with these volcanoes are on the boulevards around town and are technically owned by the Town of Milton. Many of these trees with volcanoes will not be healthy, some will die, and some will grow but be weak. What a shame.

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Last edited by Halton Home Inspector on Sat May 06, 2017 4:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:30 am 
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I heard about this on an episode of This Old House a couple of years ago. They showed how the roots had grown up close to the top of the ground. After that, I took down the "volcano" that the town's contractor left and flattened it out. Mind you, I hate my ugly locust tree and wish we got a nice maple or something like all the rest of the neighbourhood has...


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:37 am 
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I have the gross locust tree as well. It's already been replaced once by the town.

So what do we do about the volcano? Just move the mulch away from the trunk? Or is it best to flatten out?


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:00 am 
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Jack_Flack wrote:

So what do we do about the volcano? Just move the mulch away from the trunk?


Right, pull the material away from the trunk until you get to the base / bottom of the trunk. Change the shape of the mulch / dirt from a cone to a crater.

Or, if it's a gross tree that you hate, pile it up higher around the trunk. :wink:

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Last edited by Halton Home Inspector on Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:20 am, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:01 am 
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I've leaving my tree's base au-natural. what I'd really like is for the hump to sink down to ground level all together. At least I didn't get a locust tree, though the Hackberry they planted doesn't sprout leaves until 1/2 way through may it seems.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:10 am 
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The problem is you cannot take away the volcano unless you take the tree out and dig it deeper. The Town does not dig the hole deep enough to bury the root ball. They leave the root ball sticking out the top, therefore it has to be covered in mulch or soil leaving a volcano.

In nature the tree grows underneath the soil and the root ball is formed underground not above the soil levels. You cannot just remove the mulch and have nice flat looking grass under your tree. If you wish to do this be prepared to dig out the tree and replant it. If replanting the tree, be careful not to dig the hole too deep. This can pose as another problem. When replanting you must not bury the knuckle (bump) on the tree, aways keep ground soil level above the knuckle found at the base of the tree. If you bury the knuckel the tree will die.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:17 am 
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Fully agree. First thing i did when I moved in was to get rid of the lile of dirt/mulch and expose the tree trunk down to pretty much the root. After that I added a bit of mulch around the tree only for decoration.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:19 am 
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justagirl wrote:
The problem is you cannot take away the volcano unless you take the tree out and dig it deeper.


That's not true.

justagirl wrote:
The Town does not dig the hole deep enough to bury the root ball. They leave the root ball sticking out the top, therefore it has to be covered in mulch or soil leaving a volcano.


Everyone makes mistakes, but in general they are planted at the proper height. The volcanoes are a problem.

justagirl wrote:
In nature the tree grows underneath the soil and the root ball is formed underground not above the soil levels.


That's not true. Trees grow UP and OUT of the ground. Only the roots grow under the ground.

justagirl wrote:
You cannot just remove the mulch and have nice flat looking grass under your tree.


Sure you can. But it's best to have mulch around it for the benefits noted in my OP.

justagirl wrote:
If replanting the tree do not dig the hole too deep cause this can pose as another problem.


That's true, because the bark of the tree would be under the ground.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:29 am 
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Halton Home Inspector wrote:
justagirl wrote:
The problem is you cannot take away the volcano unless you take the tree out and dig it deeper.


That's not true.


What do you mean it's not true? It was true with the tree we had. Tree was planted a day later We took the mulch off and the root ball was sitting above grade level, we had to remove the tree and dig it deeper to achieve a flat serface under the tree.

Halton Home Inspector wrote:
justagirl wrote:
In nature the tree grows underneath the soil and the root ball is formed underground not above the soil levels.


That's not true. Trees grow UP and OUT of the ground. Only the roots grow under the ground.


Exactly the roots are under the ground not 1/2 above ground cover with mulch.

Halton Home Inspector wrote:
justagirl wrote:
You cannot just remove the mulch and have nice flat looking grass under your tree.


Sure you can. But it's best to have mulch around it for the benefits noted in my OP.


Have you removed the mulch from your street tree right after the tree was planted? We have, in our case the roots was exposed, maybe it's not the case if it's an older tree, but I think if you want a flat service under the tree it must be dug out.


Last edited by justagirl on Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:36 am 
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This explains why the tree on our boulevard looks like a twig - 8 years later.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:52 am 
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Justagirl,

I guess your tree was not planted at the right height above the ground but I'm sure most are.

On my street where they planted them a few years ago, they are all at the right height above grade but did not put much mulch around them and the trunks do not have volcanoes around them.

Just to be clear. I did not invent this issue. It's clear to every arborist and to anyone with knowledge in this field that these volcanoes, where they are piled up the trees trunk, are bad for the tree.

Regardless of the height of the tree out of the ground, people should take a moment and remove the dirt / mulch from the base of the tree and from around the trunk.

A good shot of water would also help.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:02 am 
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My tree was the same. I removed the volcano and saw some roots sticking out. Next year, my tree was dead. It has still not been replaced by the town. They did take it away though.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:12 am 
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Sandeep wrote:
My tree was the same. I removed the volcano and saw some roots sticking out. Next year, my tree was dead. It has still not been replaced by the town. They did take it away though.


Right, the roots were starved for water so they grew up into the mulch, leaving them vulnerable, and the tree died. What a waste.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:23 am 
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Andy,

Should we not plant flowers at the base of the tree because they will compete with the nourishment?


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:38 am 
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CupcakeMommies wrote:
Andy,

Should we not plant flowers at the base of the tree because they will compete with the nourishment?


I don't see a problem with that as long as the flowers do not need to be constantly watered. Constant watering would not encourage the trees roots to go deep into the ground which would be good for the tree. You could also buy some granular tree food to sprinkle around the base of the tree to replace any nutrients that the flowers might steal away from the tree.

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