With regular mulching, you’ll find your landscaping looks fresher, boosts your home’s curb appeal and will stay healthier and more resilient. But a layer of mulch throughout your landscaping is more than an aesthetic tool to keep your design visually appealing. Mulch applications:
- Help the soil retain moisture.
- Prevent weed spread and growth.
- Insulate the ground against temperature extremes.
- Slow water evaporation from the ground and storm water runoff to reduce soil erosion.
- Minimize soil compaction to keep soil loose for healthy plant roots.
Guide to Mulching
What’s the secret to ensure healthy and luscious landscaping and plant life? A fresh layer of mulch. Mulch is available in organic and inorganic forms like stone, gravel or rubber.
Organic mulch — wood chippings, shaved tree bark, and pine needles — should be applied throughout the year, especially in late spring to protect plants from summer heat and after the ground starts freezing in the winter. Make sure to find quality mulching products that do not compact, decompose slowly and allow proper air and water permeation.
Once you’ve found the right type of mulch for your landscaping, make sure to apply it properly to ensure the most effective results and benefits.
Mulching Dos and Don’ts: How to Mulch Your Landscape
Keep your landscaping looking pristine all year long with these tips for mulching your yard:
- Use mulch to accent landscaping: Homeowners use mulch to highlight their landscaping design. Find colored mulch that complements the style of your home and enhances your landscape theme.
- Regularly remove old mulch applications: Throughout your annual mulching, remove old mulch applications to keep your mulch looking pristine and prevent the layers from becoming too thick.
- Spread mulch evenly over plant beds: Apply approximately three inches of mulch over the top of your landscape beds. Too much soil will cause plant roots to grow too shallow, making them more susceptible to disease and death. Thin mulch applications will cause erosion and sediment runoff. The right amount of mulch will conserve moisture and prevent weed growth.
- Mulch around trees: Place about three to four inches of mulch around the base of trees, especially younger trees, to protect the tree against mowers and other plant growth. Do not place mulch directly against the tree trunk, as this can cause bark rot, disease, and insect infestations.
- Avoid underlayment materials: Landscape fabrics and plastics claim to stop weed growth and prevent spread. But landscape underlayment can keep necessary water and nutrients from plants and increase water runoff. Plus, it may not even prevent weeds.
Call Shearer Patio & Landscape Services for Landscaping and Lawn Care
Shearer Patio & Landscape Services is Columbus’s premier landscape design and lawn care company. Our landscaping professionals are dedicated to delivering personalized design and lawn care solutions for our customers, developing effective solutions tailored to your needs, budget and expectations. Our standard landscaping services include mulch spreading, plant installations and pruning, lawn fertilization and more.
Learn more about our residential lawn care services today by calling 614-889-9981 or filling out our online contact form.
