In areas where I am trying to grow ground covers that self-spread, I haven’t been using mulch, thinking the mulch will hinder the self-spread of the desired ground cover. Thus weeds and other things I didn’t want to grow in that space do fill in. Is it recommended to use mulch even when the ultimate goal is to have the ground covered with plants? Mulch will save me a lot of weeding time.
by Missy Fabel
It’s easy to be beguiled by the fresh look and scent of newly spread mulch. Yet for the ecologically minded, the spread of native groundcovers by rhizome, stolon, or seed introduces both functionality and a particular aesthetic into the landscape as plants fill cover soil by virtue of their growth habits and reproductive strategies.
by Michael Phillips
Orchard health isn’t about a tidy appearance, it’s about rich biology that feeds your trees. By releasing cultural notional about the manicured garden, you can find a way to please the neighbors while accommodating principles of health and diversity.
by Justin Wheeler Reprinted with permission from the Xerces Society’s blog. Besides providing the right plants, and protecting your garden from pesticides, one of the next most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the winter cover they need in the form of fall leaves and…
How are you using chopped or composted leaves to mitigate the effects of drought? How effective have your strategies been?
I had a pile of wood chips delivered to me at the end of last summer and want to use it as mulch in my flower and shrub garden this spring. Problem is it’s been sitting for only about five months and may have not decomposed enough to use as mulch. Can I put down…
by David Ropes What more can be said about the benefits of mulch in the developed landscape? In her wonderful 2007 article “Impacts of Mulches on Landscape Plants and the Environment – A Review,” Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott from the University of Washington lays it all out, citing relevant data from 145 different sources to validate…
I recently read an article, “The Mulch Matters,” and want to understand more. I would like to plant several Japanese maples and at present have only pine straw. What more can I do to improve soil quality for these trees (since they prefer a more acidic nutrient base) without using fertilizers?
by Tim Downey What? That might be your first thought upon reading the title. Don’t we all want to grow our businesses? Why wouldn’t I want my business to pick up? But when it comes to picking up yard “waste,” it makes more sense to leave the leaves to return to the soil. Mulch mowing…
by Tricia Diggins In order to take a break from pulling invasive plants we finally started a program of sheet mulching in the Alexandra Botanic Gardens this past summer and fall.
In the “original” natural systems of prairies and forests, what we would refer to as mulch is the accumulation of system litter – grass and plant stems, leaves and sticks, etc. The slow breakdown and eventual decay of this material is an essential part of these ecosystems and is crucial to their health and continued…
