So, I was driving around town (Central NC), and saw a bunch of people
with piles of leaves around their trees, some as high as 3 or 4 feet.
Is this a good idea?

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:46:53 -0800 (PST), Mike
wrote:

So, I was driving around town (Central NC), and saw a bunch of people
with piles of leaves around their trees, some as high as 3 or 4 feet.
Is this a good idea?


No. This can create a perfect environment for fungus, mold,
destructive insects and rodents. The bark of a tree should not be
covered up with leaves or mulch, but I see this done all the time.
Like people, some trees can take more abuse than others.

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...

No. This can create a perfect environment for fungus, mold,
destructive insects and rodents. The bark of a tree should not be
covered up with leaves or mulch, but I see this done all the time.
Like people, some trees can take more abuse than others.


I feel that it can be done so that it is not harmful to the plants.
I mulch with leaves this time of year but I am very careful to keep them
pulled away from the base of the plant. And I shred them first so water can
more easily penetrate.
It's nature's mulch and it's free.... and delivered.



--
Toni
Hills of Kentucky
USDA Zone 6b
http://www.cearbhaill.com

On 12/10/2007 6:46 AM, Mike wrote:
So, I was driving around town (Central NC), and saw a bunch of people
with piles of leaves around their trees, some as high as 3 or 4 feet.
Is this a good idea?

At this time of year, I mulch all my beds with leaves from my trees. I
try to keep the mulch not thicker than about 3-4 inches. This is not
enough to smother low-growing perennials but enough to discourage weeds.
In summer, it keeps the soil cool and reduces the loss of soil
moisture; with our ongoing drought, this is very important.

Around my oak (valley white oak, Quercus lobata), I try to keep a mulch
about 6 inches thick. Western oaks seem to suffer if they don't have a
mulch of their own leaves over their root zone. I have no low-growing
plants around the oak.

Excess leaves go into my compost pile, which is really more a leaf mold
pile since there is very little green matter. When the amount of leaves
threatens to overwhelm the composting process, the rest goes in the
green trash bin for the county's composting program.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/

Mulch suggestions are here

Mulching - http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/sub3.html
and
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/M/mulch.html

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arborist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

"Mike" wrote in message
...
So, I was driving around town (Central NC), and saw a bunch of people
with piles of leaves around their trees, some as high as 3 or 4 feet.
Is this a good idea?

"Mike" wrote in message
...
So, I was driving around town (Central NC), and saw a bunch of people
with piles of leaves around their trees, some as high as 3 or 4 feet.
Is this a good idea?

Depends if:
1. They were piling for immediate compost and disposal to another location.
2. Some kind of evergreen with needles vs actual leaves.
3. Were posing so you would ask the question.

Dave