Landscaping around trees with rocks is just what you need for your yard, as those trees that are exposed are not bringing out the beauty of your yard.

10 Landscaping Around Trees With Rocks

If you want to take your yard to the next level, make use of colorful rocks to cover the roots of your trees. To know the best rocks to use for your yard, read this article.

Awesome Ideas for Landscaping Around Trees With Rocks

1. Placing Stones Just Around the Tree

Placing Stones Just Around the Tree

Best for
  • Young trees
  • Any type of tree
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Crushed stones
  • Pebbles
  • Gravel
Pros
  • Very easy to create
  • You can easily remove the rocks
Cons
  • Too basic
  • The rocks can easily get displaced

This is the most basic form of landscaping with rocks around tree roots. You do not need to do much. You just need to clear the area of grass, weed, debris, and other objects around the roots and then convert the area with rocks.

You should use rocks of different sizes and colors if you have them. If you have time and patience, you can get a more beautiful landscape by arranging the rocks based on their color.

One reason you may want to do this is to protect young trees from the competition (weeds) or to stop people from stepping on the roots. The rocks are cheap and you can easily remove them whenever you want, so this basic idea is actually a cool one.

2. Creating a Border Around the Tree

Creating a Border Around the Tree

Best for
  • Trees with emergent roots
  • Large trees
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Sandstones
  • Flagstones
  • Cobbles
Pros
  • You can put whatever you want inside the area
  • Not difficult to create
Cons
  • May be difficult to remove in the future
  • Tree roots might destroy the border

If you want to go further in protecting the exposed roots of your trees, make a raised border with large rocks. To achieve this, you’ll need a measuring tape and other tools to determine the best circumference of the circle that you should make around the tree. When you get the optimal circumference, place large rocks on the edge.

You can use a single or double layer of rocks according to how exposed the roots are and the number of rocks that you have. When you have created the border, it is up to you to fill the inside (i.e., where the roots are) with whatever you want. You may use rocks and other objects that we will discuss later in the article.

3. Bordering Your Trees With a Color Pattern

Bordering Your Trees With a Color Pattern

Best for
  • Colorful garden
  • Trees with emergent roots
  • Large trees
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Crushes bricks
  • Flagstones
  • Pebbles
Pros
  • You can put whatever you want inside the area
  • Not difficult to create
Cons
  • May be difficult to remove in the future
  • Tree roots might destroy the border

This landscaping idea is just the same as the one above. The difference between both is that in the former, you can use just any rock. However, this idea needs you to carefully place the rocks based on their color so that you can get a color pattern around the tree. The color of rocks that you can see should be determined by the tree’s flower and leaf colors as well as other colors in your landscape.

One easy trick for you is to use sandstones, bricks, and other rocks of the same color. After making the border, use a non-toxic paint to get your desired color pattern. Note that painting the rocks will not give your landscape a natural look or feel.

4. Making a Stone Bed

Making a Stone Bed

Best for
  • Very tall and thin trees
  • Trees with root pest problems
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Cobbles
  • Flagstones
Pros
  • Protects the stem from breaking
  • Adds very noticeable beauty to the landscape
Cons
  • More expensive to make
  • Difficult to remove

This idea is more like the wells of old. Imagine your tree trunk emerging from a well. That imagination can only be brought to life when you arrange the rocks around the tree to make a well. The stone bed can be of any length (i.e., number of layers), however, you can only get the “well appearance” when it is at least 3 feet tall.

When you make this stone bed, you’ll need to either leave it empty inside or fill it with rocks. If you leave it empty inside, remember to occasionally check for and remove dirt inside. If you decide to feel it with rocks, note that removing the rocks can be extra difficult.

5. Adding Flowers to the Rock Borders

Adding Flowers to the Rock Borders

Best for
  • Large trees with deep roots
  • Trees that grow well in crowded areas
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Pea gravels
  • Pebbles
  • River rocks
Pros
  • Bring extra beauty with the flowers
  • Get a mini garden on a tree
Cons
  • Plants may compete with the tree for nutrients
  • The plant roots may block air from reaching the tree

When you make a border around the tree, what do you intend to fill it with? A lot of people make flower beds around their trees (inside the rock borders), as flowers can significantly improve the look of the landscape. Go for flowers that have contrasting or similar colors to the tree. Note that you’ll need to add extra soil to achieve this.

To prevent the flowers from competing with your trees for nutrients and space, put a layer of fabric just above the roots before you add soil. To ensure that your tree gets difficult air and moisture, leave at least 3-5 inches of space around the roots.

6. Leaving the Raised Bed Blank

Leaving the Raised Bed Blank

Best for
  • New trees
  • Trees that just need space
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Sandstones
  • Flagstones
  • Cobbles
Pros
  • You have the chance to do whatever you want with it
  • Extra space and nutrients for the tree
Cons
  • Weed problems
  • Adds no significant beauty to the garden

This idea refers to the border around the tree and not the raised well-like bed. Some people prefer to have blank soil just around their trees with no rocks, flowers, or anything. Some even use compost just above the roots. If you love this for your landscape, make use of landscape fabric before adding the soil so that weeds do not compete with your tree roots for nutrients and space.

Note that some weeds can grow above the fabric. This is why you will have to regularly uproot them. Make sure that at least twice monthly, you remove weeds growing above your exposed trees. This idea gives you the chance to do whatever you want with the space later.

7. Make a Gravel or Pebble Mulch

Make a Gravel or Pebble Mulch

Best for
  • Every type of tree
  • When you add trees to a rock garden
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Gravels
  • Pebbles
  • Pea gravels
Pros
  • You can make a color pattern on the roots
  • Using a single type of rock is cheap
  • Pebbles come in multiple colors
Cons
  • Lack of diversity in rocks
  • Gravels do not have many beautiful colors

If you are a fan of colors, you should make a ground cover with all the colorful rocks that you can find. Pebbles, pea gravels, and river rocks are very beautiful stones that you can pour on the roots of your trees (after making the border) so that you can have a very beautiful tree base.

While you can place all these rocks on the roots without having any pattern in mind, you can get a more beautiful landscape when you arrange the rocks based on their type, size, and colors. Please do not use crushed rocks for this landscape, only go for smooth rocks.

8. Make a Lava Rock Mulch

Make a Lava Rock Mulch

Best for
  • Trees with red leaves
  • Every type of tree
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Lava rocks
  • Types are andesite, dacite, trachyte, and latite
Pros
  • Lava rocks help aerate the roots
  • Lava rocks help retain moisture
Cons
  • Restrictive due to the color
  • May get scattered easily

Using lava rocks is a great idea, especially if you are growing trees with red trunks, leaves, or flowers. Aside from the colors of lava rocks, the rocks help to retain a lot of moisture for your trees, as they act as a water retaining wall. The air pockets in these rocks help water to quickly reach the roots of your trees as well.

Lava rocks are lightweight, so installing or removing them will not be challenging for you at all. If you like, you can use one or two layers of the rocks above your tree roots.

9. Give the Border a Natural Look With Sandstones

Give the Border a Natural Look With Sandstones

Best for
  • Every type of tree
  • Landscape with a natural look
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • Sandstones
  • Flagstones
Pros
  • A single color looks very cool
  • Cheap
Cons
  • Difficult to make
  • Difficult to remove

Sandstones may look boring, but when used for landscaping, there’s no way you’d deny their beauty. If you want your trees and landscape to look as natural as possible, use sandstones alone as their border. Are you growing trees that originate from hot deserts or other dry places? The best way to give your landscape that desert design is to use sandstones.

One problem with large rocks such as sandstones is that they are very heavy and difficult to move around. You cannot use crushed rocks to achieve the natural look, so get ready to put some muscle into the work.

10. Replace the Rocks With Wood Chips

Replace the Rocks With Wood Chips

Best for
  • Young trees
  • Trees in vegetable gardens
Types of Rocks You Can Use
  • No rocks
  • Tree bark
Pros
  • Adds extra nutrients to the soil
  • Cheap
Cons
  • Attracts termites and other pests
  • Degrades, so you need to replace the chips occasionally

If you have already made a rock or rustic garden around your tree, you can replace the rocks with tree bark for some reason. One reason is that the rocks that you choose to use may not be very effective in preventing water from evaporating from the soil.

Another reason is that rocks do not add any significant nitrogen to your plants. As for chips, they are better mulch for trees.

If you have a vegetable garden and there is a tree in it, you need to conserve as many nutrients as you can. Also, your vegetables stand to gain a lot from the wood shavings, especially when they decompose and release their nutrients back into the soil.

Conclusion

These landscaping ideas are super awesome and you should try them out in your yard.

Here are a few reminders for you:

  • The most basic type of landscaping with rocks around trees is to place the rocks around the roots without making a border.
  • If you want to bring forth extra beauty to your yard, select your rocks based on their type, size, and colors.
  • For young trees with weak stems, make a raised bed as tall as 3 feet to protect them.
  • If you are growing trees with red leaves, stems, or flowers, consider using lava rocks.
  • To give your landscape a natural look and feel, make use of sandstones.

Now, it is time to get busy. Remember to place your landscaping rocks on the roots based on their colors.

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