Leave the Leaves

It’s fall, y’all! We associate the cooling temperatures of autumn with shorter days,
colorful leaves, and planting trees (ok, that’s what we think of at TreesCharlotte). But
that also means it’s time for deciduous trees to shed their beautiful leaves all over our
lawns, parks, streets, and sidewalks. You’d better get busy raking up and bagging those
leaves to go to the county compost facility, right? Wait – not so fast! While we commend
the City of Charlotte for requiring leaves and yard waste to be placed in paper (not
plastic!) bags for composting at their facilities, can we suggest another option that’s
easier and even better for our native wildlife? Leave them! That’s right, don’t send them
to an offsite composting facility. Fallen leaves have properties that are beneficial to soil
structure, plant health, and wildlife. 
To make your fall leaves eco-friendly this year, we recommend either:

1. Mulching your Leaves
   Skip the trip to the garden store and use your tree’s self-made mulch to prepare your
   tree or garden for winter. Nature’s fertilizer!  You can leave the leaves as they are or
   rake them up and shape the pile into a ring around the tree (as you would with
   hardwood mulch or pine needles).  You can also lay them flat around your garden
   beds. Leaves (like other types of organic mulch) help the soil retain moisture and
   warmth, plus they add nutrients and organic matter, thus improving structure in the soil
   as they decompose. Not to mention, many types of native wildlife like bees, butterflies,
   moths, and fireflies use fallen leaves as a warm winter home. If you can, we
   recommend not shredding the leaves (and the insect eggs and larvae that could be
   attached to those leaves) to protect wildlife habitat.
2. Composting Them
   If you have a thick layer of leaves and you want to get rid of some, you can still make
   use of of their natural benefits by doing some DIY composting. The materials are
   minimal and the process is simple. If you do it right, your compost will be ready to feed
   your landscaping by spring! Find out more about turning your leaves into compost here.