Mulching your trees is one of the best things you can do for their long-term health, but the way mulch is applied matters as much as whether it's applied at all. If you've seen trees ringed with a tall mound of mulch piled up against the trunk, you've seen a mulch volcano, and it's a practice that causes serious damage over time.
Mulch piled against the bark traps moisture against the trunk, creating the exact conditions that promote fungal rot, bark decay, and insect infiltration. In Atlanta's humid summers, that damage accelerates. It also encourages what's called "girdling roots," where roots follow the moisture up into the mulch and begin to circle the trunk rather than grow outward through the soil the way they should.
The correct approach is a flat, donut-shaped mulch ring, two to four inches deep, starting two to three inches away from the trunk and extending out to the drip line of the canopy if possible. That's it. No mountain. No contact with the bark. This simple adjustment is one of the most impactful things Atlanta homeowners can make for their trees' long-term canopy health.
Have you checked your mulch rings lately? Do you have trees in your yard that have been mulched this way for years? #Atlanta #TreeHealth
A side-by-side comparison photo showing a mulch volcano (incorrect) next to a properly applied flat donut ring (correct), ideally from actual Atlanta properties. If no comparison shot is available, a close-up of a well-mulched tree in a cleaned-up Atlanta yard works well. Real job or property photos are ideal.
Canva text suggestion: "Mulch Volcano vs. Healthy Mulch Ring" or "Right vs. Wrong: Mulching Your Atlanta Trees"