Rotten at the base

[Granny]

I have noticed 2 small trees, 1 is a plum and the other is an ornamental plum, that look rotted at the bottom. Does mulch up around them do this? Does too many plants around the base do this or do I have a problem I need to address? I also found out that vining plants on the wall of a house will grow into the siding anywhere it finds a crack so I am taking it down, might just pull it out. I don't want stuff that will ruin walls of the house. I don't know a lot about plants and what they can do if planted in an area.

[gone_tropical]

mulch should always be kept away several inches from any trunk.
certainly too dense a foliage around the tree could keep extra moisture and restrict air movement.

Try scraping the mulch away and give the trunk some open space by trimming some of the foliage that's too close to it.

hope that helps

[PlantSwap]

Local yard companies in our area are really bad about creating mulch mountains/volcanos around the base of trees. Ideally mulch should only be ~2-4 inches thick and ringed around the base of the tree. Ringed = not touching. What I see around our neighborhood is 1' tall mounds of mulch with a tree sticking out the middle.

[Granny]

Thanks for the wisdom. The plum tree was surrounded by all the snow on the mountain that I tore out, the ornamental plum does't really have much around it so not sure why it's happening to that one. Should I do anything else for them?

[PlantSwap]

Hard to say without seeing them. If you are concerned that they might be dying, you could always call a local arborist to have a look.