Why Is Mulching Plant Beds Important?

3/1/2016

Applying mulch to plant beds is key to maintaining healthy, attractive landscaping. Below are some specific benefits of properly applied mulch:

Mulch helps retain moisture, which leads to healthier plant stock.
A layer of mulch around plantings reduces weed growth.
Mulch adds nutrients to the soil due to its natural decay.
A well-mulched bed prevents plant stock from getting hit or damaged from lawn equipment; for that reason, creating tree rings around trees is suggested.

In addition to the above, mulch adds beauty and uniformity to landscaping at a minimal cost.

Some Do’s And Don’ts Of Mulching:
Do’s:

When mulching trees, mulch surrounding the trunk should look like a donut-a uniform circle.
Keep the mulch to a thickness of 1-2” around the base of trees, shrubs and perennials to prevent decay of the bark layer causing poor growth. Overall, keep mulch at a maximum thickness of 4”-- any more will restrict the access of oxygen to the soil and plant roots.
Try to have an edge for the mulch to sit along to prevent it from migrating out into the lawn.
If re-mulching beds, it may be necessary to remove some of the old mulch to allow for proper depth when installing fresh mulch in plant bed areas.

Don’ts:

Avoid excessive build up of mulch around base of trees and shrubs. (Volcano effect)
Using chipped wood from a local municipality is not recommended for typical decorative plant beds. Using these chips may bring in viral infections that a tree had when removed and chipped; in addition, unwanted growth of saplings will also occur.
Do not use mulch over landscape fabric in the hope of improving the soil. When the mulch decomposes it cannot enter the soil if there is a fabric barrier between it and the soil. Mulch will also break down creating allowing weeds to germinate above landscape fabric.

Hope the above information will help assist in a healthy and attractive landscape for you. If interested in having your beds mulch or just delivered, please contact us. Thanks!

5 Comments

Braden Bills link

2/17/2021 09:20:16 am

I've been having a hard time getting my garden to grow nicely. It makes sense that I would want to consider having mulch put in would be beneficial! I can see how that could help nourish my plants effectively.

Rebecca Gardner link

3/2/2021 02:39:34 pm

It's good to know that mulch is capable of adding nutrients to the soil as it decays. My husband and I want to do some research about landscaping and gardening since we moved to a home with a large yard about two weeks ago. Your article helped me understand some of the benefits mulching could provide for our yard, os thanks for sharing this info!

kate hansen link

4/6/2021 05:12:48 pm

It's good to know that it can help with retaining moisture! My sister recently started a garden in her backyard a couple of weeks ago, and she was telling me last night about how she wants to learn more information on how to take care of it. I'll make sure to pass this information along to her so that she can look into using mulch for her garden!

Henry Killingsworth link

8/10/2021 02:38:48 pm

It was really interesting to me when you mentioned that mulch can provide nutrients that plants can use as it decays. It seems like you would want to lay mulch down after you have planted everything you want in an area. That way you can have the ideal mulch coverage which will help your plants the most.

Adam Golightly link

8/12/2021 03:59:16 pm

My mom really wants to grow some better tomatoes this year because she loves making homemade tomato soup. She would really like to get some mulch for the plants because she wants to get the extra support to get the nutrients they need. I liked what you said about her plants will be healthier because it adds nutrients, reduces weeds, retains moisture, and makes the area look a lot better.

ASk Eric