The Village of Oak Park | 123 Madison St.  Oak Park, IL 60302 | village@oak-park.us

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Volcano mulching epidemic threatens young trees

A growing epidemic of a particularly bad gardening practice is threatening trees on the Village’s many parkways.

Known as volcano mulching, the aesthetic-driven practice of piling mulch in a volcano-like mound around the base and up onto the trunk is a recipe for the slow decline, and likely death of these important community resources.

Property owners who mulch the trees on parkways have the right idea when it comes to keeping the roots moist and limiting the competition by encroaching grass.

But if they or their landscape contractors are mounding the mulch over the root flare at the base of the tree they are setting the stage for root strangulation, rot and insect infestation, problems that typically cause a slow death.

Planters built around the base of trees can have the same effect.

Mulching with wood chips up to four inches deep is beneficial to trees, but only if a space of two-to-three inches is created so that the chips don’t touch the bark. Think of mulching as creating a donut around the tree, rather than a volcano.

For more information on the care of Oak Park’s urban forest, call 708.358.5700, email publicworks@oak-park.us or visit www.oak-park.us/trees.

Photo of the wrong way to mulch a tree

photo of the right way to mulch a tree
Village Forester Rob Sproule shows how to properly mulch a tree.