Why is Mulch Important?

It looks good, end of the story that’s all. No, but it does provide a lot of curb appeal. Especially with all the color choices, we have today. Black, chocolate, red, natural, and don’t forget pine bark. So what does mulch do besides curb appeal?

Mulch For Weed Control

Mulch helps prevent weeds from growing up out of the ground. Particularly early spring weeds that need a lot of light. Unfortunately, seeds that drop from trees, birds, or get blown by the wind will still grow on top of the mulch.  So it will still need to be attended to on occasion.

Help Maintain Moisture

One of the best things about mulch is that it helps soil maintain moisture throughout the day. We tell our customers to water in the early morning. The Ozarks and NWA are prone to drought and high afternoon temperatures in the summer. Mulch helps keep plant roots moist all day long as well as conserving rainwater.

Soil Amendment

Our favorite aspect of mulch is that it helps add nutrients back into the soil as it decays. This gives plants surrounded by mulch a good steady supply of nutrients throughout the year. Some types of mulch such as pine needles and bark can help correct problems like soil acidity or PH. Certain plants like hydrangeas need this to help maintain their color.

As it decays or weathers mulch will need to be replaced or added to. Certain colors are more prone to sunlight and will fade with time. Others like pine bark will maintain their natural color longer and will need to be touched up less.

We recommend adding new mulch to garden beds in the spring. A new mulch touchup keeps everything looking fresh and bright after a long winter.