My neighbor said that I am damaging my trees by trimming the grass around them with a line trimmer. Is that true? What is my alternative?
One of the more popular uses for line trimmers is to trim grass and weeds growing around trees. An occasional use around a well-established tree probably does little damage. However, weekly use around trees, especially young ones, is devastating. Every time the line hits the tree, a little outer bark is removed. As fast as line trimmers rotate, that may be 100 times in one trimming. After 10 or 20 trimmings, there may be little or no bark left near the soil line on young trees.
The inner bark of a tree contains the tubes that carry food manufactured by the leaves down to the roots. If some of these tubes are damaged, less food reaches the roots. With less food, root growth slows and fewer new roots are produced. Slowing root growth means the tree can support fewer leaves. This reduces the growth rate and can reduce tree size as leaves are shed to balance top growth with root capacity. Once all the conducting tubes are cut, no more food reaches the roots, and they begin to die. A slow, painful death of the leaves and branches follows.
The simplest way to avoid damage is to create a grass- and weed-free circle of mulched soil around the base a tree. There should be a minimum 3-foot diameter circle for individual trees. The size of the circle should be increased with tree growth. Groups of trees and shrubs can have irregularly shaped beds around them.
