How Mulching Can Affect Trees

Many property owners regard mulch around trees as purely decorative, giving the property a sharper look. However, if you mulch your trees correctly, it can actually benefit them, protecting them and helping them to become stronger and healthier. On the other hand, mulching your trees the wrong way can harm them, to the point where you may need tree service in Cambridge. Find out more about how and why you should mulch your trees.

What Are the Potential Benefits of Mulching for Trees?

As a property owner, you may be tempted to take a laissez-faire attitude toward your trees, trusting them to grow and thrive on their own without any extra attention from you. Many trees live a long time under these circumstances. However, trees are exposed to many elements that can damage or sicken them. Even if your tree survives for many decades without special care, it may not thrive. Caring for your trees helps to keep them healthy, which can make them more resistant to disease or damage and can possibly extend their lifespan.

Mulching is one thing that you can do for your trees to help keep them healthy. There are several ways that trees can benefit from regular mulching.

The roots of a tree collect nutrients from the soil to feed and nourish it. Over time, the soil can become stripped of nutrients, meaning that the tree suffers from a deficiency of the building blocks it needs to grow. Organic mulch adds nutrients to the soil as it decomposes, restoring its fertility.

Weeds that grow around your tree can compete with it for soil nutrients, water, and sunlight. You may not think that this would have a big effect on your tree, but weeds can grow prodigiously. Mulch helps to prevent weed growth in several ways. First, it provides a barrier between weed seeds and the soil, preventing the seeds from reaching the soil so they can germinate. Second, even if a weed seed does make it down through the mulch into the soil, it may not be able to germinate because the mulch layer prevents it from getting the sunlight it needs to grow.

All plants need water to grow, and trees are no exception. Evaporation can prevent trees and other plants from getting the moisture they need in sufficient quantities. Mulch helps to hold moisture in the soil and prevent it from evaporating. A mulch layer can retain 80% of the water that would otherwise have evaporated, which helps the tree to grow and stay healthy.

What Should You Know About Mulching Trees?

Mulch can be good for your trees, but too much of anything is bad. When you mulch your trees, be sure to do so correctly, or you could harm your trees more than you help them.

Be careful not to apply too much mulch to your trees. This can prevent oxygen from reaching the roots, which may have to start growing closer to the surface to compensate. As a result, the roots might start folding over the trunk, making it more difficult for the tree to receive the water it needs to grow.

Don’t apply mulch too close to the trunk. This can cause water to become trapped, promoting fungal growth and potentially causing an infection. Leave a six-inch space between the mulch layer and the trunk of the tree to allow air to circulate.

Choose an organic mulching material. You can mulch with inorganic materials, such as plastic, rubber, or fabric, and you may get some of the benefits, but these materials won’t decay naturally and replenish nutrients in the soil.

When Do You Need Professional Help Caring for Your Trees?

Some types of care are more complicated than mulching, such as tree pruning service near me. Don’t take chances with your valuable trees; call Martin’s Tree Service for pruning and related tree care.