Summer is a great time to refresh your bark mulch. Mulching is beneficial for your property but can also cause damage if not installed appropriately. The damaging effects occur when a landscape maintenance service applies excessive amounts of mulch. Suffocation occurs when the bark is piled around the base of your trees and plants. The effects of excessive mulching cause decay because of the high water retention rate inviting disease and harmful pathogens to enter into the plants bark.
Piling of mulch also promotes “Girdling Roots” which causes the surface roots to grow and surround the plant causing a deficit of nutrients and water. Mulch is very beneficial for trees & plants if used and applied appropriately, but needs to be managed. A best landscape practice is that you should be able to see the “Root Flare” at the base of your trees after the mulch has been installed. Your landscape only needs about 1.5”-2” depth of mulch to suppress the weeds, moisture and nutrient retention for your plant material, & keeping the aesthetics of your landscape fresh.
San Jose Landscape Maintenance includes sustainable benefits for mulching includes injury prevention from lawn mowing equipment by keeping a safe buffer zone of an 18-24” ring around the tree base, also helping your tree from competing lawn roots, mulch will also alleviate soil compaction giving your tree breathing room. A common industry wide problem is that most Commercial Landscape Companies do not enlarge the mulch area around the trees base as they grow and mature over the years, the tree trunk diameter continues to enlarge and the mulch should be expanded to facilitate the growth.
By not enlarging the tree well or ring at the base of the tree promotes the piling of mulch covering the crown year after year further compounding the problem. This is often described as as “Volcano Mulching”. The best practice for mulch installation is to apply the mulch out to the drip line of the trees outer branches if feasible. Applying a minimum of 3’-4’ or more if possible away from the base trunk line is preferred for maturing trees.
It is suggested that after a few years of applying mulch that you have your commercial landscape maintenance company remove previously installed mulch that is becoming excessive and piling up, before applying a new layer of mulch.
The added cost of mulch removal is an extra expense for property owners and should be considered because it will reduce the cost of plant and tree replacement in the future.
FloraTerra provides commercial landscaping services and apartment landscaping in and around the bay area , providing a complete range of services, including sustainable landscape improvements, landscape water management for Shopping Centers, Retail Mall Landscaping, R & D Developments, Luxury Apartment Landscaping, Residential Estate Landscaping, HOA condominium Landscaping Company, Condominium Developments and Commercial Office Park Landscaping Company, Corporate Campus Landscaping. We provide services throughout the greater bay area.
ABOUT FloraTerra Landscape Management
FloraTerra of Silicon Valley and its affiliates, are based in San Jose, California. As a leading contractor and landscape Maintenance Company of commercial and multi-residential properties, since its origin the company and its affiliates have installed and maintain some of the most prestigious properties in the bay area. For more information about FloraTerra please visit http://www.floraterra.com.
San Jose | Santa Clara | San Francisco Bay Area | Fremont | Sunnyvale | Milpitas | South Bay