I do not see the connection between piling up these leaves and creating
a shallow
root system. True enough, as mentioned in the previous thread, there
are better
ways to do this and avoiding other problems that injure the trees. If
these leaves
eventually decompose and work their way into the soil inside the drip
line, that
should nourish the tree. The other approach is to drive fertilizer
spikes deeply
into the ground, but I think that is unnecessary, in this case. Rain
and melting snow
will eventually drive these nutrients down to the roots. I mean, how
else are you
going to practically fertilize a tree except from the top? If you try
to extend the
feeding beyond the drip line, you run into other problems with nearby
grass and run
the risk of the nutrients going to something other than the tree. I
agree that piling up
raw leaves is just a way for lazy people to either get rid of pesky leaf
piles or give the
impression that they are making an effort to feed the trees. The three
feet of mixture
they used was overkill, especially in Knoxville where the winters are
not so bad, and
leaving no gap next to the trunk is inviting a host of other problems.
I also believe
that putting a proper 'blanket' over a tree (especially a young
sappling) is a way to
improve on nature. There are plenty of young trees in forests that
never make it.

Sherwin D.

madgardener wrote:

Well after reading and contributing to the thread about piling leaves
around trees, today in Knoxville, I noticed that ALL the young
saplings planted in the median strip of a shopping center were piled
THREE FEET high and three foot wide with mulch, chopped grass and
leaves. Made me want to go to every tree and kick each and every one
of those piles to pieces and hear each tree gasp in relief and
gratitude. I started paying closer attention as I drove down the main
road in Knoxville and sure enough, almost every maintained shopping
center that was planted in these beautiful trees of all varieties
(including the hated Bradford pear) were piled up in these weird three
foot by three foot leaf, grass and mulch volcano's. Are these people
nuts???? Given time, these poor things will grow shallower roots and
come a good wind sheer or intense storm or tornado, these trees will
topple like overstacked blocks. I cannot believe landscapers are so
uneducated. Especially when I received a letter from UT Agriculture
warning us to enlighten new gardeners and home owners against the
practice to pile up around the trees like this. And this was
widespread throughout the whole city as far as I could
tell.....arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I finally got home and had to go down into
my woods to sit and look at the perfect blanket of leaves, pine
needles, pinecones and debris lying about in my fallow woods to remind
myself that Mom's Nature knows how to take care of her
trees.........just my observation today after reading this thread this
morning. (I assume this practice is done all over the place, since
I'm in Tennessee and the original post was in another
state). madgardener slipping back into the woods now
--
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect." Chief Seattle