| mulch.pdf |
TO MULCH OR NOT MULCH....THAT IS THE QUESTION
Where mulch goes wrong
If your plants have been installed correctly (with part of the rootball above grade), an inch or two Mulch should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER touch the plant. “What?” you ask. Yes, you were taught wrong. In the section above, you learned that plants in a forest are mulched yearly by leaves, but it quickly breaks down and never lasts long near the crown plants. The crown is where the root system and the upper part of the plant meet. The crown of plants need light and air, plain and simple. When mulch is heaped up around the crowns of plants, it prevents light from reaching the crown and reduces the amount of air the crown gets. Light and air reduce moisture levels, which helps prevent disease.
Since we typically get ample amounts of rain, use our irrigation systems with mindless abandon and have heavy clay soils, large amounts of mulch can make a bad situation worse. The soil may never dry, creating dire conditions for some plants. There are some species that tolerate excessive mulch better than others. Some of the worst effected plants are grassy plants (iris, daylilies, liriope, etc.), Indian Hawthorn, Azaleas and Loropetalum. Over mulching is one of the most costly and common mistake people make. Landscapers are the worst about over mulching…ggggrrrrr.
A note on colored mulches. There are 2 ways to color mulch. Oil bases dyes are used commonly to color mulch. I constantly hear vendors say “It’s organic”. What a ridiculous argument. Well, the oil I use to fry chicken in is organic too… but I’m not going to pour it in my yard. The second way they produce black mulch is by adding soot, a by-product of some sort of industrial process. This “blackened” mulch is as alkaline as Draino and effectively suppresses weeds…and every other plant too. Repeated applications can make it impossible to grow anything.
What is right?
Yes, you can mulch your trees and plants, but only if you do it correctly. Only add enough mulch around your trees to just cover the soil. If you need to add another bag in 2 or 3 months, do it then. Your only trying to make it “pretty”, not replant the tree.
For your shrubs, mulch the soil that looks straight up to the sky, but not under the plant. The soil that is under your plants is in the shade and will dry slower than sunny spots. After a good rain, a little mulch will move under your plants. The only exception would be if you are seeing erosion and exposed roots. Then add only enough mulch to cover the exposed roots and address what’s causing the erosion.
For annual color, plant straight through the mulch. Do not add mulch after the fact, unless you plant each plant with only 1/2 of the root ball in the ground, even then be careful. Annuals are easily smothered.
If you hire someone to mulch for you, tell them exactly what you want done, you’re the boss. This can be easier said than done. After the job is done, check the work. If there is mulch piled around the crown, it will need to be pulled back. If your landscaper is still there, ask them again to fix it. If you have to do it, a kid-sized leaf rake is great for this job. If mulch is really stuck in the crown, you’ll need to get in there and remove it by hand.
Proper mulching is an art and a science, now go get and “A”.