Place a thick plastic cover or protective tube around the base of the tree at a height of 12 to 18 inches. The flexible corrugated drain tube that opens on one side works great as a protective device that wire cutters can now hit while mowing grass. Fortunately, this is easy to prevent. On the one hand, you can place a barrier, often called a trunk protector, around the trunk of any young tree planted in the grass.
There are several types available at garden centers, but you can also make your own with a simple drain tube, cut along one side that you can place around the trunk. Young or newly planted trees have not yet developed a thick layer of bark to protect themselves from physical trauma. Wood chips, rocks, dust and other debris that the lawnmower may throw around the garden can cause significant damage to the trunks of these younger trees. Damage in the early stages of a tree's life can have lasting effects on its growth pattern and health.
The best way to prevent such damage from occurring is to install tree protectors, which act as a layer of artificial bark around the trunk. Made of plastic and available at most hardware stores, tree protectors are simply wrapped around the tree trunk and held in place with cables or other anchors. Trees may not shout very loudly, but that doesn't mean that the wounds opened by lawnmowers, and sometimes electric clippers, aren't real injuries. In addition, damage to the bark layer of trees causes long-term liability by creating a wound that leads to a defect and becomes an unsafe tree.
Understanding how mowing your lawn can affect trees and what you can do to avoid it can allow you to maintain your garden and lawn responsibly. Not only will this help protect your tree against accidental damage caused by the lawnmower, but it can also help reduce the risk of tripping and safety that large root nets in your garden can present. A lawnmower can quickly cut bark and kill roots or damage the tree trunk, which can have a big effect on the overall health of the tree. This can be devastating for the tree because the vessels that give life and distribute water and nutrients are found in the inner layer of the bark.
It's important that you don't damage tree trunks when mowing grass, as trees can leave scars from repeated contact with the lawnmower. Crashing into the bark, especially repeatedly, with heavy machinery often causes poorly healing injuries and can cause long-term problems, sometimes even leading to the loss of the tree a decade or more later. Trees and grass aren't natural companions, but you can make their lives easier together, according to Dave Lane, lawn supervisor at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. The site of injury is usually the root area, where the tree meets the grass and gets in the way of the mower or trimmer.
Remove grass that grows on the ground around the tree trunk by scraping the leaves and roots with a shovel. For particularly large trees, which may have an extensive root network that extends beyond the area immediately around the trunk, you should make an effort to cover the roots with mulch, soil, or even additional grass to reduce the risk of them being damaged while mowing the lawn. Place organic mulch around the base of the tree far enough away so as not to damage exposed roots with the lawnmower.
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