What is a Tree Ring 💍

By Wendy Blair, Master Gardener

If you like it, then you should put a ring around it… A tree ring, simply put, is a ring of mulch installed around the base of your tree.  A mulch or tree ring around your new and established trees is the best way to not only care for your tree, but for the soil it lives in. 

A mulch ring is simply a wide circle of organic mulch applied in a thick layer around the circumference of your tree.  Installing mulch in a ring, under the drip line ensures the roots of your established trees are protected from the wide temperature fluctuations of the high desert.  It  keeps roots cool in the summer and warmer in the winter.  Mulch is also imperative in helping to retain the water you give your tree.  Moisture in your soil can be lost in our windy Spring weather as well as in the extreme heat of the summer.  Mulch helps keep in more of the water you give your trees! Using mulch made of organic materials, like chipped and shredded wood also improves your soil as it decays.  As a bonus, mulch (in a nice, thick application) also deters weeds!  

How to Make a Tree Ring

We suggest using Soilutions Forest Floor Mulch in a 4”+ layer around your mature trees.  It is made of wood from.  It also contains 10% of our Soilutions Compost added for extra nutrition for your trees!  Arbor chipped mulch, like our Forest Floor Mulch does not float away like bark mulch! Bark naturally contains wax which naturally repels water and is hydrophobic- therefore the float. Over time, arbor chipped wood integrates with the soil making it stay in place through rain and windy conditions. 

Tree ring vocabulary: 

• The drip line of a tree is the area defined by the outermost circumference of a tree canopy where water drips from its leaves to the ground.
• A mulch ring is simply a wide circle of organic mulch applied in a thick layer around the circumference of your tree.  Installing mulch in a ring, under the drip line ensures the roots of your established trees are protected from the wide temperature fluctuations of the high desert.  It  keeps roots cool in the summer and warmer in the winter.  Mulch is also imperative in helping to retain the water you give your tree.  Moisture in your soil can be lost in our windy Spring weather as well as in the extreme heat of the summer.  Mulch helps keep in more of the water you give your trees! Using mulch made of organic materials, like chipped and shredded wood also improves your soil as it decays.  As a bonus, mulch (in a nice, thick application) also deters weeds!