Mulching

Mulching Your Tree

What is mulch?

Mulch is a material used as a ground cover. Mulch can be inorganic (lava rocks, gravel, etc)

or organic (wood chips, pine straw, bark, etc). Trees Atlanta recommends using organic mulch.


Tree with no mulch and lots of weed-eater damage.	Tree properly mulched, protected from lawn mowers and weed-eaters coming too close.

Why Use Mulch?

1. Mulch helps maintain soil moisture. It keeps water from evaporating quickly so the tree has time to suck it up with its roots.

2. Mulch prevents the soil surface from crusting over, so rain water can infiltrate and reach tree roots.

3. Mulch regulates soil temperature. Without a layer of insulation, soil temperatures can rise over 100 degrees in the summertime. High temperatures can kill roots.

4. Mulch holds down weeds. Lawn mowers and weed-whackers are a young tree's enemies! Wounds caused by lawn mower/tree collision or weed-whackers create openings for diseases and pests.

5. Organic mulch eventually breaks down and adds organic material back into the soil. And we all know urban soil could use more organic material. Organic material helps create soil texture and provides nutrients necessary for the tree to live. (That said, Trees Atlanta does not recommend adding organic material like compost to your trees; they don't need it and could contribute to rot, etc.)

6. Mulch helps prevent soil compaction by distributing compression weight. Soil compacts due to being walked or driven on, among other things. Soil in this state does not contain enough space for the water or oxygen that a tree needs.

7. Mulch helps prevent soil erosion by slowing down water flow and holding it in place for longer.

When to Mulch?

1. Maintain the mulch around your trees year-round to ensure that they always have enough. It is especially important during the summer when water can be scarce.

How to Mulch?

1. Remove weeds/grass that grow close to the tree trunk.

2. Use organic mulch such as wood chips, pine straw, tree bark, or leaves (Trees Atlanta does not recommend that the use of Cypress mulch - click here for some facts).

3. Spread mulch 2-3 inches deep under the entire canopy of the tree. If you make your mulch too deep, water could sit in the mulch and not infiltrate the soil (click here for more information on overmulching). Though you want to be careful not to overmulch, be sure not to spread your mulch too shallow, because that will not help hold down weeds or hold in moisture.

4. Pull mulch 4 inches away from the base of the tree. Do not let mulch pile up around the base of the tree as this could cause the young, thin bark to rot. You should still be able to see the root flare you left exposed when planting the tree.