Water and mulch?

We have a nice good-sized Japanese maple growing in our front yard, in partial shade from a nearby plum. We've never had a bit of trouble with this tree, but that just makes me all the more nervous when I change anything at all about it. :) Part of the ground under the maple is covered with a thick growth of vinca; part of it is pretty bare, though I'm trying to get pachysandra and sweet woodruff going. (The two parts are separated by a fence under the maple.) There's also lawn just beyond the maple's leaves, so I'd guess that there are some roots in that area, too.

In the past couple of years, the maple has received no added water in winter and spring, a relatively brief watering two to three times a week in summer, and a bit less in fall. Now, I'm trying to go to a lower-water regimen for the garden in general. That means that I'd _like_ to give the Japanese maple some mulch, at least in the bare-ground area, and water it more deeply and less frequently. (I'd probably mulch with commercial compost.)

Is this safe, or should I leave well enough alone? I know not to pile the mulch right up to the trunk, but I don't know how safe it is to mulch at all. I also don't know if a Japanese maple will show early signs of watering problems, or if it abruptly goes past the point of no return.

Thanks for any advice,

Burnet


This message was edited Apr 30, 2006 8:38 PM

I don't know about mulch but if you want to cut back water and the tree is mature, use a water meter to see if watering really needs to be done. My guess is that your ground covers are going to need more water than your maple without mulch. I water my all mature trees with a root feeder several times in the summer. Remember that the tree really wants the most water around it's drip line.