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Index : Landscape Plants
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- 44. Garden Mulches Offer Many Benefits - Top
- In gardening terms, a mulch is any material used to cover the surface of the soil in garden beds and landscapes. Mulches offer many benefits to plant growth. They help conserve soil moisture, moderate soil temperatures, control weeds, prevent soil crusting, and control erosion. Inorganic mulches such as decomposed granite and rock are typically used in desert landscapes. However, organic materials, such as wood mulch, peat moss, manures, compost and straw further benefit plant growth by adding valuable humus to the soil profile.
In selecting a mulch, first consider how it will be used. Organic mulches are best for bed plantings of vegetables, herbs, seasonal and perennial flowers, roses, and ground covers. Some such as peat moss and compost can be worked into the soil at the end of the growing season. Others like straw, bark chips or ground wood mulch can be raked back to allow seasonal plants to be removed then spread back around new plantings. Wood mulches should not be mixed into the soil, but rather left on top.
My favorite mulch for flower beds, roses, herb gardens and ground cover plantings is shredded cedar mulch. A number of hardware and garden stores are now stocking bagged cedar mulch. Unlike bark mulch, this wood product is shredded into bits and pieces that interlock and form a dense mat. Once in place, it is resistant to being blown by wind or washed away by heavy rains. And because the wood is shredded, it breaks down slowly, adding beneficial organic matter, in the form of humus, to the soil.
Wood mulches, such as shredded cedar are also beneficial for landscape plants, especially new ones. A three inch layer of mulch placed around the base of newly planted trees and shrubs will protect delicate roots from heat and help hold in moisture; allowing for greater root growth and quicker establishment. At a minimum, the wood mulch should be place over the full width of the planting hole. Placing the mulch out even farther will provide benefits expanding roots.
Wood-mulched beds have a very pleasing appearance when used in conjunction with rock mulched areas. Just use an edger between the two mulch types. A wide edging, such as brick, landscape blocks, or pressure-treated wood timbers looks best. Around individual trees or shrub groupings a narrow edger, such as plastic or steel works best.
Locally, concerns about organic mulches harboring insects such as roaches, crickets, and termites have been expressed. These concerns, however, are unfounded. No increase in insect problems have been attributed to the use of organic mulches, such as bark or shredded wood. In fact, cedar mulch is likely to repel many types of insects.
Regardless of the mulch type, organic or inorganic, do not place a weed mat or plastic sheeting under the mulch. Solid plastic sheeting prevents rain water from freely moving down into the soil. It also retards the movement of oxygen, essential for root growth, into the soil atmosphere. Woven weed mats present a different problem. Blowing dust, which settles on mulch allows weeds to grow above the weed mat. When the roots of these weeds grow into the woven mat, they are very difficult to extract.
Finally, when applying organic or rock mulches, keep them back and inch or so from the base of plants. Mulch piled up against the trunks or stems of plants can trap too much water against the bark and promote wood-infecting diseases.
- Updated: August 8, 2001
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