# Why do commercial landscapers mound the mulch so high?



## smokey847 (Oct 15, 2011)

All commercial buildings have the mulch like a foot high. What's the point?


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## Ironlight (Apr 13, 2011)

smokey847 said:


> All commercial buildings have the mulch like a foot high. What's the point?


Weed control and moisture retention. The more mulch, the less frequent the maintenance rounds/visits.


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## cibula11 (Jan 6, 2007)

It's poor landscaping regardless of the reason, unless it's done in areas with little vegetation. If, however, it is done around shrubs, perennials, etc. the roots can retain so much water that the excess mulch is basically suffocating the roots. Old mulch should be removed before new is put down, but that rarely happens.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

I agree. Good mulch does not have to be 48" thick. Money in it though. I guess some people think it is "a look!?"

It actually can be a hazard. Ever seen wood shavings internally combust? I have. 48" will not do it but will give off steam on a cool morning. I used to grab the horrid power company tree trimmers and ask them to dump a truck full in my yard. If I didn't get to moving it around, it would steam and smoke and potentially catch on fire. 

Mulch, at least the layer near the soil, steals nitrogen from the soil. You have to compensate with a simple high nitrogen only fertilizer depending on how much mulch you add for this reason, at least with simple bedding plants.

One of the mulch materials I like the best? Cleaned and washed tire fragments. Available in color. You do not have to lay them on thick. They are easy to rake. They are recycled and they look nice and stay in place since they are heavier than wood chips.

You serve no purpose tilling them into the soil though.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Many reasons:

1. These landscape companies hire people who know nothing about landscaping or plants.

2. People who hire these services feel like they're getting a good deal b/c more is better.

3. Having the mulch pile high causes the roots to grow towards the top rather than dig in deep into the soil, which is bad during storms.


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## wrooster (Apr 16, 2010)

smokey847 said:


> All commercial buildings have the mulch like a foot high. What's the point?


There is no point. The people performing the work have no idea what they are doing. This errant "mulch volcano" approach is not only degrading to the landscape aesthetics but in fact is detrimental to the trees. Mulch volcanos are a good indication that the wrong landscaper is under contract.

Wrooster


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1083.html


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## GardenConcepts (Jan 21, 2010)

Not ALL landscapers practice volcano mulching. It is definitively bad for the plants and a waste of money. 

There are other misguided practices that so-called landscape professionals employ, such as pruning tree branches flush to the trunk, painting pruning cuts with asphalt sealer, planting Bradford Pears, installing plants too close to one another and/or too close to a building... I could go on and on.


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## Meenie50 (Feb 15, 2012)

GardenConcepts said:


> Not ALL landscapers practice volcano mulching. It is definitively bad for the plants and a waste of money.
> 
> There are other misguided practices that so-called landscape professionals employ, such as pruning tree branches flush to the trunk, painting pruning cuts with asphalt sealer, planting Bradford Pears, installing plants too close to one another and/or too close to a building... I could go on and on.


Hi Chris, 
What's wrong with Bradford Pears? They're beautiful in the Spring. When I lived in Virginia and we had a hurricane, the poor things were destroyed - the wind just twisted them and they were either terribly deformed or broken - so that's a disadvantage. Most people replanted with some type of newer version of the bradford pear (I forget the name).


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## GardenConcepts (Jan 21, 2010)

Bradford Pears self-destruct just as they are maturing- especially in areas with snow. Many landscapers still plant this cultivar of Callery Pear, well aware of the problems. Other cultivars of Callery Pear that are less prone to breaking apart are 'Aristocrat', 'Cleveland Select', and 'Capital'. While these cultivars are considered sterile, they are quite capable of cross-pollinating with different cultivars and can and do become invasive in disturbed areas such as roadsides and fields.


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## Meenie50 (Feb 15, 2012)

GardenConcepts said:


> Bradford Pears self-destruct just as they are maturing- especially in areas with snow. Many landscapers still plant this cultivar of Callery Pear, well aware of the problems. Other cultivars of Callery Pear that are less prone to breaking apart are 'Aristocrat', 'Cleveland Select', and 'Capital'. While these cultivars are considered sterile, they are quite capable of cross-pollinating with different cultivars and can and do become invasive in disturbed areas such as roadsides and fields.


Thanks Chris, that's good info to know!!


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## heatherb88 (Feb 21, 2012)

I learned in landscape design school that it's bad to do this and if it is done it's purely for appearance sake. It may look good, but it's bad for your plants.


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## wrooster (Apr 16, 2010)

heatherb88 said:


> I learned in landscape design school that it's bad to do this and if it is done it's purely for appearance sake. *It may look good*, but it's bad for your plants.


But, it doesn't look good. This is why I can't understand why it is done. :huh:

Wrooster


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## Meenie50 (Feb 15, 2012)

I don't think it looks good either and, if it's done by a "professional", it just makes them look like a nincompoop!!
:wink:


wrooster said:


> But, it doesn't look good. This is why I can't understand why it is done. :huh:
> 
> Wrooster


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## Patrick Crosby (Mar 19, 2016)

I would say it settles down or packs down but I think he just needed to get rid of it. -_-


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

In case anybody is still reading this ancient thread, it is also very harmful to the trees ,as it is a perfect breeding ground for borers. Mulch should never be mounded up against the trunk of the tree.


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## a powe (Apr 1, 2016)

As already mentioned, volcano mulching causes roots to grow into the mulch mound, and not bury themselves deeply into the soil as is supposed to happen.

Out of curiosity, I have this question: how would the roots react to a "volcano" of _river rock_? The rock wouldn't retain moisture like the mulch would, so you'd think the roots wouldn't be attracted to the volcano if it were made of rocks. Would the roots sink into the ground just as they would if the ground were bare? Would they sink even deeper, in order to find nutrients, since the volcano of river rock would be blocking oxygen?

I would never do this, for the record. I'm just curious, as I've seen it done and want to know exactly what those trees went through.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

chrisn said:


> In case anybody is still reading this ancient thread, it is also very harmful to the trees ,as it is a perfect breeding ground for borers. Mulch should never be mounded up against the trunk of the tree.


Shoot, it's an old thread? I wanted to ask why it would rob nitrogen from the soil?


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