"presley" wrote:

When people speak of smothering trees by adding soil around the base, that's
really because soil is dense and compact and doesn't allow for much oxygen
exchange, etc. Mulch does not create this problem, in the sense that 3
inches of mulch will be tolerated much better than 3 inches of soil. I would
kill the grass around the trees with rising roots, and, if you want a
uniform look, add 3 inches of mulch around the base, with less, or none over
the protruding roots, and correspondingly more in the deepest spots between
them.

There is mulch and there is mulch. A long lasting loose mulch will
allow air and water to circulate, keep the roots cool, and prevent weeds
from growing, all attributes of a good mulch. On the other hand, a bad
mulch will mat down and block air and water flow. Some good mulches are
bark (especially bark nuggets), stones in the shade (not in the sun),
and other long lasting organic materials. Poor mulches are things that
degrade such as sawdust, grass clippings, and other materials that
degrade and form a slime layer.

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