[CANUFNET] CANUFNET Digest, Vol 75, Issue 20
Ralph Nevill
NevillR at dnv.org
Thu Mar 31 10:33:38 EDT 2011
Debates about tree roots growing into the mulch or rates of water infiltration through mulch are pointless if your newly planted trees have been completely girdled by WEED WACKER DISEASE!
In the District of North Vancouver we have banned the cosmetic use of pesticides so homeowners/landscrapers seem to use clothesline gage cord in their machines as compensation. Therefore, we apply ~ 5 cm of mulch 50cm - 60 cm around all of our newly planted trees and top up older trees on an as needed basis to prevent grass from growing up to the base of the trees and the dreaded WWD.
We also water our trees in summer (yes, even in North Van). Endless spring rains only lasts a week on glacial till and newly planted trees are quickly stressed if we have a 4 - 5 week dry spell in July - August.
Ralph Nevill, PAg, RPBio, Certified Arborist
Field Arborist
The District of North Vancouver
355 West Queens, North Vancouver BC V7N 4N5
(604) 990 - 3810
www.dnv.org
-----Original Message-----
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of canufnet-request at list.web.net
Sent: Thursday March 31, 2011 6:52 AM
To: canufnet at list.web.net
Subject: CANUFNET Digest, Vol 75, Issue 20
Send CANUFNET mailing list submissions to
canufnet at list.web.net
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/canufnet
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
canufnet-request at list.web.net
You can reach the person managing the list at
canufnet-owner at list.web.net
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of CANUFNET digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. To Mulch or Not To Mulch (terri smith)
2. Re: To Mulch or Not To Mulch (Jack Radecki)
3. Re: To Mulch or Not To Mulch (pwynnyczuk at richmondhill.ca)
4. Re: To Mulch or Not To Mulch (Anita Schill)
5. Re: To Mulch or Not To Mulch (Philip van Wassenaer)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:49:03 -0500
From: terri smith <janedatsun at hotmail.com>
Subject: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
To: Canufnet Canufnet <canufnet at list.web.net>
Message-ID: <SNT104-W5533EDBEE8322AF1736EACD6BC0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
I would like to know if there are any municipalities that have stopped applying mulch on newly planted boulevard trees. Current research indicates that mulch should not be placed over the root ball because it causes roots to grow up into the mulch area, it also causes roots to remain within the root ball area instead of growing out laterally, and it actually prevents the water from penetrating deep into the soil. Dr. Ed Gilman and Dr. Hannah Mathers both agree that no more than 2 ? 2.5 inches of mulch should be applied outside of the root ball area (if mulch is still going to be applied) and both are in agreement that mulch provides no benefit to the tree. At 2 inches of mulch there is little to no weed suppression.
These new findings contradict our current mulching practices and have created much debate within our department. I would like to hear from other municipalities that have either discontinued mulching or have never mulched their blvd trees. Is there a need to increase the amount or frequency of watering?
Terri Smith
Urban Forestry
City of Saskatoon
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/archives/canufnet/attachments/20110330/69b0c5e2/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:29:03 -0400
From: Jack Radecki <jackandali at sympatico.ca>
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
To: "'Canadian Urban Forest Network'" <canufnet at list.web.net>
Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP302D4862E8F697B2F6E230BDBC0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
These new findings contradict my 35 years of experience in the field and
monitoring tree growth throughout. Perhaps they are talking about mulch
volcanoes or excess mulch over the root zone. I have only seen the benefits
and the proof is the resuts that I have seen over many years.
Ask yourself the questions about how organic matter is replenished in a
forest? Trees "feed" themselves from their own litter. Without the mulch you
put the tree into an inorganic, inert world and prone to the many problems
that we are aware of, drought obviously is the main killer of young trees.
Jack Radecki Registered Consulting Arborist 342
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net]
On Behalf Of terri smith
Sent: March-30-11 12:49 PM
To: Canufnet Canufnet
Subject: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
I would like to know if there are any municipalities that have stopped
applying mulch on newly planted boulevard trees. Current research indicates
that mulch should not be placed over the root ball because it causes roots
to grow up into the mulch area, it also causes roots to remain within the
root ball area instead of growing out laterally, and it actually prevents
the water from penetrating deep into the soil. Dr. Ed Gilman and Dr. Hannah
Mathers both agree that no more than 2 - 2.5 inches of mulch should be
applied outside of the root ball area (if mulch is still going to be
applied) and both are in agreement that mulch provides no benefit to the
tree. At 2 inches of mulch there is little to no weed suppression.
These new findings contradict our current mulching practices and have
created much debate within our department. I would like to hear from other
municipalities that have either discontinued mulching or have never mulched
their blvd trees. Is there a need to increase the amount or frequency of
watering?
Terri Smith
Urban Forestry
City of Saskatoon
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/archives/canufnet/attachments/20110330/9848af1c/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:30:53 -0400
From: pwynnyczuk at richmondhill.ca
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network <canufnet at list.web.net>
Message-ID:
<OF020612A4.D74EA958-ON85257863.006AAFEF-85257863.006B1E7F at richmondhill.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi Terri,
What happens to exposed soil around the base of the tree or anywhere,
.....erosion, soil compaction...heat build up...are these factors that
affect recently planted trees survival?
No mulch, could attract weed seeds, which then germinate and attract
string trimmers....
A couple of inches helps address the above and allows for the creeping of
grass to the base of the trees over a few years.
This is based on a few years of Blvd tree planting.
Look forward to the continuation of this question.
Regards,
Peter Wynnyczuk
Urban Forestry Supervisor
Town of Richmond Hill
Community Services Department
Telephone: 905 780-2930
Fax: 905 780-2928
Internet: pwynnyczuk at richmondhill.ca
From: terri smith <janedatsun at hotmail.com>
To: Canufnet Canufnet <canufnet at list.web.net>
Date: 03/30/2011 02:57 PM
Subject: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
Sent by: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net
I would like to know if there are any municipalities that have stopped
applying mulch on newly planted boulevard trees. Current research
indicates that mulch should not be placed over the root ball because it
causes roots to grow up into the mulch area, it also causes roots to
remain within the root ball area instead of growing out laterally, and it
actually prevents the water from penetrating deep into the soil. Dr. Ed
Gilman and Dr. Hannah Mathers both agree that no more than 2 ? 2.5 inches
of mulch should be applied outside of the root ball area (if mulch is
still going to be applied) and both are in agreement that mulch provides
no benefit to the tree. At 2 inches of mulch there is little to no weed
suppression.
These new findings contradict our current mulching practices and have
created much debate within our department. I would like to hear from
other municipalities that have either discontinued mulching or have never
mulched their blvd trees. Is there a need to increase the amount or
frequency of watering?
Terri Smith
Urban Forestry
City of Saskatoon
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/archives/canufnet/attachments/20110330/f0c42427/attachment-0001.htm>
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 07:41:49 -0600
From: Anita Schill <aschill at oldscollege.ca>
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network <canufnet at list.web.net>
Message-ID:
<A487AF28DF53854F8BA027B06575491F037DA80716E5 at OLEXBACK.Win.Olds>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
Landscape Below Ground III was held in Illinois in 2008 and there were several presentations and demonstrations about mulches. I would highly recommend purchasing the proceedings. Basically, organic mulches improve shoot growth, root growth, as well as soil physical chemical and biological properties. I was amazed to see how quickly an urban soil (compacted, layers of different fill soils, etc..) was able to develop some structure under a mulched situation.
Ed Gilman is one of the editors of the proceedings. I too have recently heard Ed talk about mulches and I think there may be some misunderstanding. What he said was it was not beneficial to place mulch directly on the rootball surface at planting but, by all means, mulch to the rootball. I don't think that deviates too much from our practices unless we are still planting individual trees in individual holes surrounded by turf. It's worth testing. Anytime you plant large mulched beds with several trees, remove the mulch from the surface of the root ball on some trees and not to the rest. Let the rest of us know your findings.
Anita Schill, PAg.
RCA #421
________________________________________
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [canufnet-bounces at list.web.net] On Behalf Of pwynnyczuk at richmondhill.ca [pwynnyczuk at richmondhill.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 1:30 PM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
Hi Terri,
What happens to exposed soil around the base of the tree or anywhere, .....erosion, soil compaction...heat build up...are these factors that affect recently planted trees survival?
No mulch, could attract weed seeds, which then germinate and attract string trimmers....
A couple of inches helps address the above and allows for the creeping of grass to the base of the trees over a few years.
This is based on a few years of Blvd tree planting.
Look forward to the continuation of this question.
Regards,
Peter Wynnyczuk
Urban Forestry Supervisor
Town of Richmond Hill
Community Services Department
Telephone: 905 780-2930
Fax: 905 780-2928
Internet: pwynnyczuk at richmondhill.ca
From: terri smith <janedatsun at hotmail.com>
To: Canufnet Canufnet <canufnet at list.web.net>
Date: 03/30/2011 02:57 PM
Subject: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
Sent by: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net
________________________________
I would like to know if there are any municipalities that have stopped applying mulch on newly planted boulevard trees. Current research indicates that mulch should not be placed over the root ball because it causes roots to grow up into the mulch area, it also causes roots to remain within the root ball area instead of growing out laterally, and it actually prevents the water from penetrating deep into the soil. Dr. Ed Gilman and Dr. Hannah Mathers both agree that no more than 2 ? 2.5 inches of mulch should be applied outside of the root ball area (if mulch is still going to be applied) and both are in agreement that mulch provides no benefit to the tree. At 2 inches of mulch there is little to no weed suppression.
These new findings contradict our current mulching practices and have created much debate within our department. I would like to hear from other municipalities that have either discontinued mulching or have never mulched their blvd trees. Is there a need to increase the amount or frequency of watering?
Terri Smith
Urban Forestry
City of Saskatoon
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:47:04 -0400
From: "Philip van Wassenaer" <pwassenaer1022 at rogers.com>
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
To: "'Canadian Urban Forest Network'" <canufnet at list.web.net>
Message-ID: <006901cbefaa$1e9e9820$5bdbc860$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I agree that the organics are very important as well protecting the fine new
roots we need to encourage.
Mulch is good. Bad mulching practices are bad!
Philip van Wassenaer, B.SC., MFC
1248 Minnewaska Trail
Mississauga, Ontario
Canada, L5G 3S5
Tel: (905) 274-1022
Cell: (647) 221 3046
Fax: (905) 274 2170
UFI logo extra space.JPG
www.urbanforestinnovations.com <http://www.urbanforestinnovations.com/>
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net]
On Behalf Of Jack Radecki
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 5:29 PM
To: 'Canadian Urban Forest Network'
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
These new findings contradict my 35 years of experience in the field and
monitoring tree growth throughout. Perhaps they are talking about mulch
volcanoes or excess mulch over the root zone. I have only seen the benefits
and the proof is the resuts that I have seen over many years.
Ask yourself the questions about how organic matter is replenished in a
forest? Trees "feed" themselves from their own litter. Without the mulch you
put the tree into an inorganic, inert world and prone to the many problems
that we are aware of, drought obviously is the main killer of young trees.
Jack Radecki Registered Consulting Arborist 342
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net]
On Behalf Of terri smith
Sent: March-30-11 12:49 PM
To: Canufnet Canufnet
Subject: [CANUFNET] To Mulch or Not To Mulch
I would like to know if there are any municipalities that have stopped
applying mulch on newly planted boulevard trees. Current research indicates
that mulch should not be placed over the root ball because it causes roots
to grow up into the mulch area, it also causes roots to remain within the
root ball area instead of growing out laterally, and it actually prevents
the water from penetrating deep into the soil. Dr. Ed Gilman and Dr. Hannah
Mathers both agree that no more than 2 - 2.5 inches of mulch should be
applied outside of the root ball area (if mulch is still going to be
applied) and both are in agreement that mulch provides no benefit to the
tree. At 2 inches of mulch there is little to no weed suppression.
These new findings contradict our current mulching practices and have
created much debate within our department. I would like to hear from other
municipalities that have either discontinued mulching or have never mulched
their blvd trees. Is there a need to increase the amount or frequency of
watering?
Terri Smith
Urban Forestry
City of Saskatoon
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/archives/canufnet/attachments/20110331/28f4edbd/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4122 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://list.web.net/archives/canufnet/attachments/20110331/28f4edbd/attachment.jpeg>
End of CANUFNET Digest, Vol 75, Issue 20
****************************************
More information about the CANUFNET
mailing list