Off topic but on to your tree, I have been reading lately about using rocks and pea gravel in place of mulch(obviously not right up to the tree trunk). Do you find this more effective or does anyone else have any info on this practice?

I like the river rock under the trees very much. It's hygienic for the tree, doesn't augment ph, no risk of introducing some fungus or pathogen, holds a little bit of warmth, does not need replacing so cost effective, and keeps my granular fertilizer and irrigated water right where I want it to be. The only thing that I don't like about it, is that weed seeds get caught when they blow over it so I find myself pulling a lot of weeds in the summertime. I will install a very permeable fabric under the gravel when I do it again on other trees. One could go with a courser, darker rock to direct more heat to the root-zone or a finer, white pea gravel to keep it cooler. I went with a mix of both. Plastic edging is essential to keep it in place.

Best,

Skinn30a

I REMove rocks before the winter, and put them back again around the trunk before summer. I do that to alow sunlight to warm up the clay under the tree during winter. In summer i place the rocks under the tree to keep the moisture.

summer photo
https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/584x438q90/4/f8ap.jpg

winter

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/329x438q90/6/or8k.jpg