7 Helpful Tips For Spreading Mulch
Spring is finally here.
I know you are probably as anxious as I am to get out in your yard and get started with the clean up process and help your yard recover from those long winter months.
We all know that spreading mulch in our flower beds is a big part of getting things back in order. Whether you plan to take on the mulching task yourself or hire a profesional to do this for you, I have put together 7 helpful tips to consider before spreading mulch.
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Mulch Selection
While there are many different types of mulch to choose from, consider the purpose you will be useing the mulch for. For example if you are looking for a mulch that will be bug resistant and pet friendly then cedar mulch is a good choice.
Lets say you need mulch to go in your vegetable garden.Then double shreaded hardwood mulch would be the way to go. It can also work pretty good on a problematic hillside where pine bark mulch would wash away, the double shreaded mulch will actually stay in place better abd you will lose less of the mulch.
I always spray the mulch after speading it on a hillside so that it kind of intertwines together and will stick to the hillside better. A little extra tip for you.
Most other mulches like the dyed black or red mulches, Pine bark and Pine nugget mulches are mainly used as decorative mulches in flower beds.
2. Trim Shrubs
Trimming the shrubs and cutting back perinials before putting down mulch is a good idea. That way you will not have shrub trimmings in your freshly layed mulch.
Although if you have flowering shrubs like azalias in your beds you will typically trim them once they are finished blooming. If this is the case then once they finish blooming and are ready for trimming simply place a tarp around the shrubs, not to allow trimmings to fall in the mulch.
3.Edge around trees and Beds
I always like to edge around trees and flower beds, This gives a more defined look to the beds and will help deferentiate the mulch beds from the grass. This can be done with a spade shovel.
4. Remove Weeds Before Spreading Mulch
As a profesional landscaper I always reccomend doing this. Even though the mulch will help keep weeds down it is a good idea to dig the weeds out at the root useing a spade shovel or it may be easier to use a small hand shovel for this task.
It is important to remove the weeds at the root so they do not have as much chance at coming back.
5. Putting Down Landscape Fabric
Useing Landscape Fabric has its benifits and its drawbacks. On one had it can work really well if proper weeding is done before putting the fabric down. this will extend the life of the fabric for sure.
On the other hand if it is just throw down ontop of existing weeds then the weeds tend to come back relativly quick. When they do come back removing them can be harder without removing all of your mulch and fabric with them.
Another alternative to putting down fabric would be to apply preen every couple of months. Preen is a pre-emergent weed control that can be applied once you have removed the weeds.
6. How much mulch to to put down
It is recommended that a layer of two to three inches of mulch be spread. This is ideal to surpress weed growth and provide a nice layer of mulchto retain mosture around the plants and trees in your flower beds.
7. Avoid pileing mulch at the base of trees and shrubs
Pileing mulch at the base of trees and shrubs can be detremental to them. Since the mulch retains mosture to much mulch at the base can cause the trunk of a tree or shrub to rot. When you put your mulch down simply pull excess mulch away from the trunks of trees leaving a bowl effect around the base.
Following these simple tips will increase curb apeal and make maintaining your flower beds alot less of a chore throughout the coming seasons.
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-Steve