Mulch isn’t the prettiest word in landscaping lingo, but it’s a wonderful thing especially for your garden.
Mulching can help to conserve water, shield your plants’ roots from extreme temperature and discourage the growth of weeds in your garden.
Over time, mulches made from organic materials will eventually decompose and increase your soil’s fertility.Plus, it looks awesome!!!
To add color and texture to the space between plants a decorative mulch will be your best choice. A nice layer of mulch will tie your garden together, giving your beds a clean, uniform appearance and causing rampant mulch envy in from your neighbours.
6 Types of Mulches
Gravel or River Rock
You might be lured in by gravel or river rock for your beds because it doesn’t blow away or even break down as time goes by plus there is no need to reapply it year after year.
That might sounds appealing. But note that also means that this type of mulch does not improve your soil over time.
Sweet Peet Mulch
Sweet Peet is a 100 percent organic mulch, increasing in popularity, especially since Martha Stewart endorsed it. It’s made up of virgin wood products, manure, and plant fibers.
This dark brown mulch goes through a composting stage where high temperatures destroy any weed seeds that might lurk inside and is also quite expensive.
Cocoa Hull Mulch
The prettiest mulch around, cocoa hull mulch has a fine texture and rich, dark color and yes, it also smells like chocolate.
But be prepared to pay as this is one of the priciest mulches on the market. On the plus side, it lasts a very long time, and its rich color doesn’t fade.
Please beware: This mulch is not suitable for properties that have cats and dogs as this mulch is poisonous to dogs and cats if they eat it.
That fine texture of coca hull mulch means it can blow away so we advise watering the hulls well with water as soon as they are spread.
Pine Bark Nuggets
Pine needles and pine bark nuggets are slower to break down than shredded ones, so some homeowners in NYC like them because they tend to last longer.
Sadly they don’t stay in place as well and are not a good mulch choice for sloping gardens or other areas where they may be washed away by heavy rain.
Pine bark nuggets are available in a variety of sizes. The bigger the nugget, the longer it lasts.
Dyed Shredded Bark Mulch
Dyed bark mulch is popular with homeowners because of the rich dark color, from red to brown to deep black.
This mulch is typically made of groundwood and is likely not all organic bark.
This mulch will keep down weeds and keeps in moisture which is great for your plants, but it won’t enrich your soil as it decomposes, the way 100 percent bark mulch has been known to do.
Shredded Hardwood Bark Mulch
Shredded bark is one of the most common and most affordable type of wood mulch on the market.
Shredded hardwood bark mulch is made from 100 percent tree bark. It’s organic, so it contains nutrition for your plants and actually improves the soil as it decomposes.
It breaks down fairly slowly and is one of the best types of mulch to use on sloping areas.
Mulching To Protect Plants In The NYC Winter
You’re not the only one shivering in New York during the winter. Your plants and bulbs will also appreciate a nice, warm blanket, too.
A 3 inch deep layer of mulch is great for seasonal protective mulching.
In the spring, you can call our gardeners to come and remove the protective mulch layer about two weeks before planting commences. This is important. Deep mulch protects the soil, but it can damage the stems or trunks of plants and trees growing in the planting bed.
Avoid letting the mulch actually touch the stems or trunks of plants and trees. A mulching material piled up against a stem or trunk can cause rot, which seriously harms or even kills the plant.