A Reddit post has sparked a flood of concerned comments after one gardener revealed their mom’s well-intentioned but disastrous attempt to help a backyard fig tree.
The post, titled “This is too much mulch right?” and shared to r/arborists, shows a young tree surrounded by a dense mound of wood chips several inches high.
The original poster wrote that their mom “piled a ton of mulch around and against it,” and despite efforts to fix the problem — “I tried to pull the mulch away from the base and also spread it out a bit” — she later “put even more down.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
Landscape experts agree that piling mulch too high, which is often called a “mulch volcano,” can smother roots and trap moisture, creating ideal conditions for rot and insects. The sweet spot is a flat, even ring about 2 to 4 inches deep, kept several inches away from the trunk. Anything more is just wasted money and effort.
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The responses confirmed the gardener’s fears.
“Holy moly,” one commenter wrote. “If even the graft point is buried then the tree is DEFINITELY too deep lol.”
Another Reddit user wrote: “The mulch ring isn’t awful, but the more pressing issue to me is that it looks like the tree is planted a couple inches below grade.”
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A third offered a solution: “It looks like it needs lifting to bring the graft above soil level. I think that’s totally doable given the hardiness of the fig tree … three stakes for proper support is essential.”
In the end, less really is more. A thinner mulch layer and a shift toward native lawns can mean fewer chores, lower bills, and stronger roots for trees, pollinators, and the communities they sustain.
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