Mulched Plants are Healthy Plants: How do you mulch?
What’s the best way to mulch? What’s the trick to get the most benefit from your mulch?
There are a couple things to take into consideration when mulching. Before applying mulch, weed the bed area to eliminate existing weeds. You can apply a pre-emergent as well to cut down on future seedlings. It’s important to start off the bed weed-free.
Spread a layer of mulch over the entire bed. Two to three inches is good for new mulch areas and topdressing can be one inch thick if there is still some mulch in the beds from the previous season.
New plantings need to be mulched when planted. Established plants can be mulched in early-mid spring to cut down on weed growth when the weather warms. To maintain your beds and to keep your plants healthy, it’s best to topdress landscape beds each season with shredded hardwood mulch. Newly planted trees should be planted in a 3-4’ diameter mulch circle. Established trees benefit from a circle of mulch 2’ in diameter for each inch of trunk diameter. For example, if the trunk is 6″ in diameter, the circle of mulch would be 12′ in diameter. Six to twelve inches beyond the drip-line of the tree is also a good guideline.
Use care not to pile mulch up at the base of plants or tree trunks. This is sometimes called “volcano mulching”. Your plants need room to breathe and piling up mulch at the base of the plant can invite unwanted pests, such as insects or small rodents.
By following these easy tips, your mulch will help keep your plants happy and healthy. It will also increase your curb appeal by giving a nice clean look to your landscape beds.
