Mold is normal in moist or wet soil and not in any way dangerous. If you have irrigation running, then turn it down until you need it in the summer. If you aren't irrigating and this isn't just seasonal, then you have some sort of leak. If your soil is simply wet from poor drainage and heavy, recent rain, then you'll need to determine what is impeding your drainage.

I think that you are talking about cherry laurel trees? They are smallish trees and not very fast growing. You don't say where you live, but it is normal for newly planted trees to show little growth for a while, especially over the winter in colder climates.

its always helpful to know where you are ....

we cant really comment on a tree coming out of winter dormancy.... if we dont know where it is ... CA is kinda big ... eh??? ... lol ...

soil undisturbed for a long time ... can look weird ... without a pic ... its hard to opine.. but often.. if you just turn or disturb the soil ... thats about all you need ...

ken

There is a forum intended specifically for these sorts of questions - Soils, Compost and Mulch - and it is pretty active with a lot of very experienced soil folks :-))

With just a very cursory glance, the soil looks heavy and compacted. That could well mean drainage is an issue and surface molds and algae are common in these situations.

'Carolina tree' is meaningless - it's not even a common name. Do you know the botanical name of the tree? Trees put out very little growth in winter (and that includes very mild winter climates), even those that are fully evergreen, so not overly surprising that you haven't seen much of a change. And newly planted stuff does take some time to get settled and established before it puts out much new growth as well.

I am located in Southern California. The nursery we bought our trees from just called them Carolinas and nothing more was said about the name. I’m thinking we tilled our grass last spring, we might have compacted the dirt to much. The soil had seemed to be clay like and now is looking more like what it did when we purchase the home.

Carolina ..cherrys (if they have a tinge of red to the leaf) are dormant over the winter so there won't be much growth but they do grow roots during that time and come spring/summer they should start growing again. If the soil is constantly wet .. here in socal.. you may have planted on the north side of a building or at the base of a slope and there may be a spring.. or in shade..plants in shade actually grow less quickly.

For the soil there are companies you can send in for soil tests but a little mold just means poor drainage. If you are redoing the yard you can work out a drainage system that moves water from the area so it should dry out...Actually edit..some types of mold means the soil is anerobic..so not enough air in the soil so this could affect the plants..but just fyi that mold is usually white.

Feel free to check out my profile for projects I have done in the Los Angeles Area area and if you are interested in talking about the project. Let me know.