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Let's Mulch Because It's So Pretty!
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We hear that mulch discourages weeds, retains moisture in our planting beds, and mulch gives our landscape beds that finished professional look. But it is number three that is the true motivation for most mulching. Although all of the above are true, more and more homeowners are unintentionally harming their landscape plants with mulch – that is, too much mulch. First, what is mulch? It can be any organic or inorganic material that we use to cover the soil, from newspaper, grass clippings, pine straw, shredded used tires, and gravel to the ever popular wood mulch. Wood mulches basically come just a few ways: actual bark from the tree that was either chipped or shredded, or hardwood from old house lumber, used wood pallets, or the heartwood of trees. The best type of wood mulch is the bark. It lasts longer both in color and in quality. It also is less likely to host various fungal growths that can appear on wood mulch during hot, humid summers. |
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Pine Bark Chips: They come in various sizes of pieces from ¼-inch to large 3-inch chunks. This type of mulch does not crust. It stays nice and airy, allowing moisture and air down into the soil. It does tend to float when hit with heavy rain, and large chunks can become flying missiles out of youngster’s hands as well as Fido wanting to play. | ||||||||||
| Shredded bark: This is 100% tree bark that goes through a shredder. It is available in different degrees of coarseness. The more coarse the shred, the steeper the slope that it will hold and stay in place during very heavy rains. Fine-shredded bark will cover more ground per bag or cubic yard, but you will have to cultivate the mulch monthly to keep a crust from forming, locking out moisture and air from the soil. Cypress bark keeps its color for several seasons. |  |
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| Shredded Hardwood: Up to 100% wood, it can also have extra filler added-such as sawdust-to help the mulch go further. This type of wood mulch contains cellulose that can be attractive to termites. This is the most economical mulch going by raw dollars, but if you factor in perceived value, the processed bark is much better. Keep this mulch cultivated monthly to keep the soil moist and airy. | |||||||||||
| Washed stone and pea gravel: As a mulch, this works great to cover the bare soil under decks and steps. It can be used around plants, but it does attract kids and summer heat, really warming the soil temperature during the summer. Never use any stone that has sand or gravel dust in it. |  |
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Recycled tires: A great mulch for use in play swing areas. It provides a nice soft landing spot. It can, however, be used by the kids as missiles and does attract heat during the summer. It can also burn if a discarded cigarette butt finds it. |
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Pine Straw: Ah, the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Pine straw, which comes in bales, is the discarded needles of pine trees. It is the mulch of choice for most homeowners in the southern states. It is applied to your planting beds just as you would apply wheat straw to lawn areas that you’re reseeding. It is a mulch that-once down-will not move, even on very steep slopes. I love its look, but if you don’t, put down a thin coating of pine straw and place a thin layer of pine ships on top. The chips will be locked in place by the pine straw. Pine straw mulch, when applied to a depth of two inches, will remain in place for years. You might want to put a light coating of fresh needles down every spring, but you do not run the risk of ever-mulching like you do with every other type of mulch. Bales will vary in coverage with some bales covering up to 60 square feet.
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Word of Caution:
A lot of mulch is being put down in homeowner’s landscapes by individuals more interested in selling lots of mulch than doing it right. The homeowner himself orders too much mulch and winds up putting too much down in the landscape beds to use up the excess. Remember, two inches of mulch is enough. More than that will cause the roots of your plants to leave the soil and grow in the mulch, making those plants more vulnerable to draught damage in summer, frozen roots in the winter and no plant wants to have mulch touching it’s trunk or stems. If you already have 2” of existing mulch in place, either loosen the old and put a very thin layer of new mulch (1/2” deep) or remove the old before putting down the new. Pine straw sounds pretty good, doesn’t it! |
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