The moment I realized I'd been mulching wrong for 7 years

Got called out by a client in Oak Park last Tuesday. She had been watching me pile mulch right up against her boxwood trunks and finally said 'you know that kills them right?' I laughed it off at first but looked it up that night. She was right. I had been suffocating roots and causing bark rot on every job I did since 2017. Had to go back and fix three other properties for free. Has anyone else had a basic assumption get flipped after years of doing it the same way?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray3566d ago

That volcano mulch thing is exactly the kind of mistake that makes you wonder what else you've been doing wrong for years. It reminds me of how people overload their dryer lint traps thinking more lint means better drying, when really it just blocks airflow and burns up the heating element. Or how everybody tightens lug nuts as hard as they can, not knowing it warps the rotors and causes that wobble. Sometimes the things that feel right or look careful are actually the opposite of what the job needs.

joel_clark376d agoOG Member

That volcano mulching mistake is way too common (I see it everywhere in Chicago suburbs). The fix is simple - keep mulch pulled back 3-4 inches from the trunk and never pile it more than 2 inches deep total. A lot of folks think piling it high against the bark looks professional, but it traps moisture and invites fungal diseases that eat away at the cambium layer.

seth_singh205d ago

Joel_clark37 nailed it - it's the same mindset where people think more of something equals better, like overwatering plants or over-seasoning food, when really it just messes everything up.