It's all about the right mulch when gardening, landscaping. Here are some tips

Rosanne Loparco
·2 min read

Mulches are materials placed over the soil surface to enhance landscape beauty, improve soil conditions, protect plants from foot traffic and lawn equipment, and suppress weeds.

Mulches are either organic or inorganic

To give your landscape plants the best option, organic mulches such as compost, wood chips, hardwood or softwood bark, or leaves are your best choice. This is because organic mulches will decompose, improving soil structure and increasing soil fertility. Inorganic mulches such as gravel, stone, rock or rubber do not provide the same benefits as organic choices since they cannot decompose.

Mulches are materials placed over the soil surface to enhance landscape beauty, improve soil conditions and more
Mulches are materials placed over the soil surface to enhance landscape beauty, improve soil conditions and more

Mulch out, not up

Avoid "mulch volcanoes" which is when mulch is extended up the trunk of a tree creating a "volcano" look. Mulch out, not deep, extending the mulch out to the tree's drip line if possible. The "drip line" refers to the outermost edge of the tree's canopy. Mulch only two to four inches deep. More than four inches of mulch can harm a plant's root system.

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Back off from the tree trunk

Keep mulch away from a tree's trunk, allowing the root flare to show just above ground level. For all your landscape plants, keep mulch away from the crown of the plants. This will insure that plants will not suffer from excess moisture.

Other tips

Before replacing mulch each season, check the depth. Some old mulch may need to be removed before adding the new material. Finely shredded mulches decompose faster; therefore, they need to be replaced more often.

Mulch definitely matters

Mulching, when done correctly and with the right material, is one of the most beneficial practices you can do for the health of plants, especially trees and shrubs.

Upcoming event

Join us for our Annual Herb & Flower Festival Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 18 on the CCE grounds and Parker F. Scripture gardens at 121 Second St. in Oriskany. For more information, visit http://cceoneida.com/ and click on the Herb & Flower Festival picture. Or phone 315-736-3394, (dial “1” when you hear the recording and then hit ext. 100.)

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Gardening: Tips on using the right mulch when gardening, landscaping