Spreading mulch is the final step in installing any new landscape or finishing your spring cleanup.
When done properly and with a good quality product, mulch will make your old plantings look new and your new plantings look better.
Do this before you mulch Remove debris, prune shrubs, fertilize with slow release and spray all weeds inside the beds with round up.
Make sure all bed edges are neat, straight and wide enough to allow for a little plant growth in the future.
Cut and clean all perennial and ornamental grass debris.
Do not cut grasses lower than 4" from ground.
Think like a professional If you have the opportunity, combine larger evergreens that have grown together into one big bed.
The finished look is spectacular and it will eliminate weed eating and mowing beneath the trees.
Plus, the trees will mulch themselves every year in September with beautiful orange needles.
How to Combine Pine Trees Start at the ends of the pine branches, go about 1 foot farther into the grass and spray paint a mark.
Follow this procedure all the way around the outside of the branches, then connect the dots in a straight line to make the bed.
Weed eat all grass inside line and spray with round up.
How much mulch will I need? Figure out the quantity of mulch you will need by doing some calculations.
Length of bed X width of bed X depth of mulch-->divided by 27 = number of yards.
Bed equals 20 feet by 10 feet= 200 square feet 2" is depth you want to install -2" divided by 12 inches = .
17 200x.
17=34 cubic feet 27 is the cubic feet factor, divide 34/27=1.
26 yards of mulch at 2" deep for 200 square feet 9 -3 cubic feet bags of mulch equals one yard-- converting 1.
26 yards to bags would be 12 bags of mulch Bulk or Bagged? If you need a large quantity, buy bulk mulch and have it delivered to your house.
It is usually cheaper and not as heavy.
Mulch in bags is sometimes wet and heavy and difficult to maneuver around the garden.
Try to dump mulch pile put in an area that is readily accessible to most of the garden.
Figure this spot out before the mulch is delivered or you'll spend a lot of your energy hauling the mulch back and forth with little going in the beds.
Dyed Mulch or Hardwood If you are going to use dyed mulch, and I say use it, I recommend brown only.
It has a rich color, great texture and will hold its color for the entire season.
If you try dyed mulch, buy it in bulk and have it delivered to your house, be careful.
The dye will still be wet and, it will Stain concrete.
Rain will also wash some of the dye off, if it has not dried to the wood.
I recommend using this product only after you know you will have a few dry days.
Be careful and know the forecast.
Try dyed brown only, you'll love it.
News Flash Dyed mulch has no negative affects on your plants, your soil and does not promote TERMITES.
How deep do I want this mulch *** Spread 1" of new mulch on top of existing mulch and cultivate (turnover) the old mulch before you apply.
*** 2" of new mulch to cover soil on a new landscape.
No deeper.
*** If you have areas that are deeper than 2", removal of old mulch and a fresh layer would be recommended Do I mulch to the trunks of plants? Try your best not to pile mulch up against the trunks of trees or shrubs.
Over time, moisture will soften the bark, possibly allowing insect damage.
Volcanoes are cool but not on trees Do not pile mulch up on tree rings, making the mulch volcano.
Mounds also happen as you edge and throw soil around the base, raising height.
Remove the soil and lower the mulch Asmulch becomes deeper and deeper, rain and moisture will stop getting through to the existing root system in the soil.
New roots will start to grow up into the mulch out of the soil to where the water is.
When water starts to become scarce, the mulch will dry out with the roots and the tree will stress.
How should mulched trees look? Mulch around tree rings should be almost level with the ground, not mounded up.
Newly installed trees will be a little higher because of the soil piled around them, but after one year, the soil should be leveled out and the mulch lowered.
Following the above steps gives a finished professional mulch application that not only looks great but makes for a happy and healthy landscape.
Knowledge is flowers.
All the best, Todd Visit: [http://www.
landscapeproblemsolver.
com]
When done properly and with a good quality product, mulch will make your old plantings look new and your new plantings look better.
Do this before you mulch Remove debris, prune shrubs, fertilize with slow release and spray all weeds inside the beds with round up.
Make sure all bed edges are neat, straight and wide enough to allow for a little plant growth in the future.
Cut and clean all perennial and ornamental grass debris.
Do not cut grasses lower than 4" from ground.
Think like a professional If you have the opportunity, combine larger evergreens that have grown together into one big bed.
The finished look is spectacular and it will eliminate weed eating and mowing beneath the trees.
Plus, the trees will mulch themselves every year in September with beautiful orange needles.
How to Combine Pine Trees Start at the ends of the pine branches, go about 1 foot farther into the grass and spray paint a mark.
Follow this procedure all the way around the outside of the branches, then connect the dots in a straight line to make the bed.
Weed eat all grass inside line and spray with round up.
How much mulch will I need? Figure out the quantity of mulch you will need by doing some calculations.
Length of bed X width of bed X depth of mulch-->divided by 27 = number of yards.
Bed equals 20 feet by 10 feet= 200 square feet 2" is depth you want to install -2" divided by 12 inches = .
17 200x.
17=34 cubic feet 27 is the cubic feet factor, divide 34/27=1.
26 yards of mulch at 2" deep for 200 square feet 9 -3 cubic feet bags of mulch equals one yard-- converting 1.
26 yards to bags would be 12 bags of mulch Bulk or Bagged? If you need a large quantity, buy bulk mulch and have it delivered to your house.
It is usually cheaper and not as heavy.
Mulch in bags is sometimes wet and heavy and difficult to maneuver around the garden.
Try to dump mulch pile put in an area that is readily accessible to most of the garden.
Figure this spot out before the mulch is delivered or you'll spend a lot of your energy hauling the mulch back and forth with little going in the beds.
Dyed Mulch or Hardwood If you are going to use dyed mulch, and I say use it, I recommend brown only.
It has a rich color, great texture and will hold its color for the entire season.
If you try dyed mulch, buy it in bulk and have it delivered to your house, be careful.
The dye will still be wet and, it will Stain concrete.
Rain will also wash some of the dye off, if it has not dried to the wood.
I recommend using this product only after you know you will have a few dry days.
Be careful and know the forecast.
Try dyed brown only, you'll love it.
News Flash Dyed mulch has no negative affects on your plants, your soil and does not promote TERMITES.
How deep do I want this mulch *** Spread 1" of new mulch on top of existing mulch and cultivate (turnover) the old mulch before you apply.
*** 2" of new mulch to cover soil on a new landscape.
No deeper.
*** If you have areas that are deeper than 2", removal of old mulch and a fresh layer would be recommended Do I mulch to the trunks of plants? Try your best not to pile mulch up against the trunks of trees or shrubs.
Over time, moisture will soften the bark, possibly allowing insect damage.
Volcanoes are cool but not on trees Do not pile mulch up on tree rings, making the mulch volcano.
Mounds also happen as you edge and throw soil around the base, raising height.
Remove the soil and lower the mulch Asmulch becomes deeper and deeper, rain and moisture will stop getting through to the existing root system in the soil.
New roots will start to grow up into the mulch out of the soil to where the water is.
When water starts to become scarce, the mulch will dry out with the roots and the tree will stress.
How should mulched trees look? Mulch around tree rings should be almost level with the ground, not mounded up.
Newly installed trees will be a little higher because of the soil piled around them, but after one year, the soil should be leveled out and the mulch lowered.
Following the above steps gives a finished professional mulch application that not only looks great but makes for a happy and healthy landscape.
Knowledge is flowers.
All the best, Todd Visit: [http://www.
landscapeproblemsolver.
com]
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