On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 10:09:17 -0700, tenplay wrote:

We had two large dead trees cut down and a lot of trees trimmed last
week and then ground down into wood chips. Our intention was to
gradually spread the chips around our large garden areas. The tree
cutters left the huge pile of wood chips in an area at the base of three
trees. Yesterday our neighbors, who are really into gardening, informed
us that we had to move the chip pile away from the base of the three
trees quickly, that they would die from suffocation otherwise. Is this
true? If so, how long do we have to move them? Also must we be careful
not to spread the chips too close to our garden plants? Thanks for any
advice/suggestions.


It is true that the tree root area should not be covered or buried in
such a way to prevent air from getting to the surface area. It is
bad to pile anything next to the trunk of a tree as this can promote
disease. How long a tree can stand abuse depends on the condition of
the tree, the kind of tree, the tree's age, the area of the pile, etc.
A layer of mulch is beneficial to trees, although not more than a 4"
layer. Keep in mind that wood chips, as they decay (compost), will
quickly deplete the area of nitrogen. You can make an excellent
compost pile by mixing the chips with an equal amount of grass
clippings--your compost will be ready to use in 2-3 months. The
decaying wood chips will use the nitrogen from the green grass
clippings.