Re: Mulch against trunks
guest@stratsoy.uiuc.edu
Sat, 8 Aug 1998 16:05:13 -0500
My two cents...I have seen root crown decay on landscape shrubs and young trees esp. when finely ground firbark mulch was applied two -four inches against the trunk. University grounds setting. I wonder if the more frequent exposure of these plants to irrigation adds more to the moisture problem than would occur in a natural setting, where trees shed the rain and the swelling rootmass tends to raise the area around the trunk for drainage in an outward direction. Also, the tree's own leaves would maybe accumulate with more space for gas exchange, affecting the conditions that may promote crown rot organisms? The trees don't have to have mulch right up to the trunk, so I now keep it back a bit just to ensure that the root crowns stay drier.
Mark at Chico State.