Can bark mulch be used around fruit trees

Fruit trees spend decades drawing sustenance from a shallow halo of feeder roots, so the soil under their canopy deserves a woodland‑style blanket. Spread a ring of chunky bark five to eight centimetres deep from halfway between the trunk and the drip line outwards. The mulch deadens crusts, captures drizzle, and muffles weeds that steal water in summer. Rain striking the chips filters gently, avoiding splash that might carry canker spores back to young bark. Earthworms soon haul flakes downward, mixing humus, opening passages for oxygen.

Nutrition follows more slowly. As fungi digest lignin, they bleed potassium and trace calcium in low, steady doses ideal for fruit set. A momentary draw‑down of nitrogen can occur where wood meets soil, so sprinkle a collar of composted manure before mulching or liquid‑feed after blossom. Keep the bark two hands away from the trunk to deter voles and prevent damp against the crown. Top up once the layer slumps below four centimetres; fresh chips lock in moisture through July droughts and insulate roots from icy February mornings. AHS LTD supplies untreated, medium‑grade pine bark that settles neatly yet stays airy, giving orchard floors a living quilt that quietly boosts yields year after year.