Bald Cypress Knees in Lawn
- Thread starter Jim Wyatt
- Start date
Santiago Casanova
Branched out member
- Location
- Sink Hole
We are hardly in the hot part of the year. Once the dog days are upon us it is a part time job caring for my plants.
cerviarborist
Very stable member
- Location
- Florida, USA
It also happens to be peer reviewed, which means that other scientist in the field anonymously reviewed the experiment and found its conclusions valid enough to sign off on it for publication. Feel free to show us peer reviewed studies, which contradict the findings of the UF study. I'd welcome the opportunity to read them.
Peer-review is a check for proper procedure and protocol. It does not obligate the reviewer to agree with anything beyond that. Very little would change if that was the case. The study you referenced was procedurally correct. What it lacked was the scope to use it for general application.
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
There are other reasons to mulch that I've never heard mentioned
At some time in the future mulching tree roots IS a benefit. Maybe there are some detriments at planting time
Setting up the idea that mulch benefits the tree in the client's mind is good. The budget is likely not there to have them pay for mulching in a year or whatever
It keeps mowers and strimmers away from the trunk
In a municipal setting the mulch ring is like a traffic cone. It's a reminder to whoever sees the visible
Mulch that a less visible newly planted tree is a good use of their taxes.
Worth repeating...keep mowers and strimmers away from The trunk
At some time in the future mulching tree roots IS a benefit. Maybe there are some detriments at planting time
Setting up the idea that mulch benefits the tree in the client's mind is good. The budget is likely not there to have them pay for mulching in a year or whatever
It keeps mowers and strimmers away from the trunk
In a municipal setting the mulch ring is like a traffic cone. It's a reminder to whoever sees the visible
Mulch that a less visible newly planted tree is a good use of their taxes.
Worth repeating...keep mowers and strimmers away from The trunk
cerviarborist
Very stable member
- Location
- Florida, USA
So what do you have to refute it? Thus far all you've offered is your own statement. Dr.Ed Gilman and "bullshit study" as you so eloquently phrased it, aren't words that typically make it into the same sentence. Until you offer something more concrete than your opinion, I'm going with Ed on this.
The paper JD linked I would have thought to be enough, even for you. Citation after citation all coming to the same conclusion that mulch is not one single substance and what it is and how it is used will ultimately determine potential benefits or not.
Regardless of how much information I could produce, I suspect it would not be enough. There is more to understanding than to simply read and regurgitate.
Regardless of how much information I could produce, I suspect it would not be enough. There is more to understanding than to simply read and regurgitate.
TreeCo
Carpal tunnel level member
guymayor
Branched out member
- Location
- East US, Earth
Best to cast a large net when fishing for answers.
Fervent belief in one authority is a religion, not science.
Fervent belief in one authority is a religion, not science.
Santiago Casanova
Branched out member
- Location
- Sink Hole
I could not have said it any better.
In my yard, for my application it does help with moisture retention and weed control. My unmulched trees have drier soil than the mulched trees do. All I need to do is stick my finger in the soil to see that. As far as the the mulch acting like shingles, it does not in my yard. When I water my trees the water goes right through the mulch and soaks into the root ball. I am not going to call a study bullshit unless I am an authority to do so, but I will say that its findings are not a blanket generalization.
I have seen mulch colonized by certain fungi that can form a hydrophobic mat. Rake or garden weasel break it up just fine but it is something to look for. The sound of water hitting these fungal/mulch areasbis distinctly different than non problematic areas if no fungi is readily visible.
southsoundtree
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Olympia, WA
Did Dr. Ed's study account for the real world conditions, or just Control and Variable.
I think some from column A and some from column B might be the case. String trimmer damage, accidental trauma from not being seen in a landscape (person or machine banging tree), compaction from human/ pet traffic, likelihood of some mulch leading to expanding mulch in the future compared to starting with bare soil surrounded by turf leading to an expanding mulch bed, etc.
ATH
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Findlay, Ohio
I have seen that far more frequently on the finer ground mulch...not that it never happens with the coarse much, but seems to be a lot less.
Santiago Casanova
Branched out member
- Location
- Sink Hole
That is 100% true. The big chunks of cypress mulch let water and air pass to the soil below. I have noticed that it does not stay dripping wet or dry out. I have used cypress sawdust from boards I have milled and the result is that it forms a mat and water will run off it is too thick. But it does have great water retention. I have not noticed a fungi under the mulch but that is probably because I turn it and pull weeds from it so gets moved around.
If all you are trying to achieve is a physical blanket-like barrier then any number of products will work as a "mulch". However, mulch is capable of much more. Trees are chemical factories absolutely loaded with complex compounds. The bark and wood in the form of chunks, shreds, or sawdust will have only a small fraction of those. Freshly chipped, live limbs with leaves will have much, much more. When used as a mulch these compounds, many easily degraded will initiate tremendous on-site bioactivity.
cerviarborist
Very stable member
- Location
- Florida, USA
None of the replies seem to have actually read the abstract, let alone the entire paper. The reason I cited it was that it was germane to the OP's post (newly planted tree). The study was designed to speak to newly planted trees and to emulate the conditions of newly planted trees... period. Of course mulch is great for established trees. Newly planted trees need water more than anything though in order for the organism to function sufficiently to establish vigorously. The point of the paper was that if your purpose in applying mulch to newly planted trees is for water retention in the soil...you might want to rethink that and pay that expense at a later date when the other benefits of mulch can be better realized by an established tree.
I'll buy that recently transplanted trees that have been mulched, covering the rootball, are more likely to fail when not properly watered during the establishment period. This could be particularly concerning when HOs are responsible for it and have not been properly trained to do it.
No, it did not, please do yourself a favor and read it. http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/documents/articles/EFG2012a.pdf
It was, however, a good example of how misinformation gets passed down and becomes common knowledge. No trees, no biology and a mulch medium most likely to give poor evaporative protection. Even with a test designed to prove a hypothesis based on a belief and I quote "With questionable benefits of mulch to survival, growth, and health of newly planted landscape-sized trees under experimental conditions, combined with the potential disadvantages of mulch applied to the root ball surface, this study was designed to evaluate if application of mulch over the root ball surface impacts evaporation." You know what the study found? That over a three day period the mulched containers lost about one liter less. That is an insignificant amount for sure but its still on the plus side. Certainly not enough of a finding to warrant the mulch phobia that this paper generated.
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