When adding mulch to your lawn or garden, you should avoid this common practice, as one TikToker shares. 

"Mulch volcanoes are never acceptable," TikToker HeirloomSoils (@heirloomsoils) said in a video. 

Mulch volcanoes are mounds of mulch piled around the trunk of a tree in a cone-like fashion that resembles a mountain or a volcano.

@heirloomsoils Mulch volcanoes are never acceptable. This clip contains pictures of what an acceptable mulch installation around a tree, looks like. Let us know what you think? #mulch #mulchvolcano #diy #doitright ♬ original sound - HeirloomSoils

In the video, he explains why mulch volcanoes are detrimental to the health of your trees.

"Over time, as mulch touches the trunk, the trunk starts weakening," he explained. "All that moisture will rot out the bark."

The extra moisture held in the mulch will allow diseases and insects to get into the tree once the bark has withered away, he said, "ultimately making your tree die or severely underperform."

There are two alternatives to the mulch volcano that he shares in the video. The first is to put the mulch level with the rest of your flowerbed so the mulch isn't climbing up the trunk of the tree. The second is to "expose the base of the tree," leaving a ring of space between the mulch and the trunk of the tree.

According to Joe Boggs for the Ohio State University, "The mulch monstrosities serve no purpose other than to waste mulch and provide proof the perpetrators do not care about long-term tree health."

Using too much mulch is a waste of money and requires extra time to care for your yard, as opposed to more natural landscaping. 

Planting native plants in your yard can also save you money and effort in care, as well as cleaning the air and providing food and shelter for local wildlife and pollinators. 

What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard? Mowing the lawn 🏡 Controlling weeds 🌿 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️ I don't have a yard 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

In general, having trees in your yard and your neighborhood is also beneficial to your health. Trees help clean the air by removing pollutants, and tree cover on city blocks can reduce air temperatures by up to 10 degrees, according to American Forests' Tree Equity Score.

Another way to help protect your tree health in your yard is by ditching the landscape fabric and using a protective zone, such as a fence or tree guards, instead when doing work in your yard.

"I needed this info! I have to figure out how to do my mulch," one commenter wrote.

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