Getting the front flower beds ready for the season. Some of my perennials are already greening up, the Easter Lily I planted last year is is coming back strongly, the day lilies have been back a while (the last warm spell and they didn't die back when it got cold again) the creeping jenny is starting to once again wend its way around the bushes and rock border. I've done some work on the beds. Gotten rid of all the weeds, and bits and pieces from the winter. Repositioned some of the rock border that shifted or loosened up. And have spread a shallow layer of mulch over everything, really more for cosmetic reasons than anything else....it gives the garden a fresh look to have that nice dark mulch as a backdrop against the plants. I didn't have much to spread, so it's sparse. I am curious though, if supply is no issue, then how deep should one mulch a flower bed?
The depth really depends on your growing conditions. It needs to be fairly deep to suppress weeds but then sometimes even that doesn't work anyway. For decorative purposes a thin layer is plenty, you might have to add more as time goes by because of heavy rain moving it around leaving bare spots or when it composts into the soil. If, like my area, you are going through drought conditions then a deep layer, 3" or more, will help retain moisture. But remember that if there is mulch you need to water more for the water to actually reach the soil where it can get to the roots. i.e. a half inch of rain or water from the hose might sound like a lot but the mulch is absorbing it all and nothing really reaches the plant roots. Or lay down soaker hoses before putting down the mulch.
Thanks toni. Y'know, I get really confused about the whole mulching thing...your response just made me realize where my questions really lie. OK, so a 3" layer would be ideal...check. But then what happens to the plants? I mean, if I mulch to a level of 3 inches, that's taller than some of the perennials just now poking through the soil. And what about the ground cover...the creeping jenny that's slowly coming out of its dormancy? Seems like I'd have to mound the mulch to a depth of 3" around all the plants that are starting to grow which would form a....a crater I guess? Is that OK for the plants? It's hard to communicate what I'm seeing in my mind's eye when you talk about mulching to that depth...but I see my front garden with all my little plants just barely poking their heads up out of the craters and trenches I've surrounded them with.
I clearly see what you are saying, Ronni. Mulching is not really as straightforward as the term sounds. There are varying reasons to mulch...and with these reasons, factors that have to be considered and carried out. Heck--incorrect application of mulch could even be harmful to your plants. Think about it. As I understand your posting you are only interested in mulching now for the purpose of giving your beds a tidy appearance, right? You have not asked for an epistle on mulching in all its forms and reasons, so I shall not waste your time with a long comment that touches on conditions and situations which are not of interest at this moment. What I will add is my 2ยข (that will be long enough as it is) If I were mulching a bed for cosmetic purposes only, the layer would be less than 3 inches thick. I would just barely cover the soil's surface, and not more...and not work it in. If you were thinking of a dual purpose here, like weed suppression, then a thicker layer is necessary. The problem there is that you already have small plants above ground and in some cases blooming. Reflect on this for a moment. If the bed has only soft, small plants, then you can see that the time to mulch for weed suppression was last fall or this past winter. The little perennial plants would grow through the mulch and do their miniature thing, and yet the thickness to suppress some weeds would be taken care of. You would not then, have to add the mulch late in the game, creating a crater surrounding your little jewels. The damp micro milieu is not good for some plant sorts, so you could stress them by doing this. Obviously if you are mulching bushes or trees for the sake of appearance, then you can mulch at almost any time, since there are no short plants present to get in the way. As I have said above, there are several reasons for mulching and some techniques to carry out, but for what you seem to be wanting to do-- less fussiness is required. I hope that these ideas are helpful to you, and as always, there is more than one way to skin a cat...so others may have some divergent thoughts to mine. That's the beauty of this forum--you get more for your money and you can then choose what seems best for you. Good luck meid.
Thanks so much Sjoerd for your response. It also helped further clarify my thoughts, and has caused me to ask another question which I realize has confused me since I started gardening. If I mulch heavily in the late fall or winter, how does it happen that my perennials will grow through that layer, but that same layer will suppress the weed growth? It seems counterintuitive....that it could allow for two completely different outcomes, depending on the plant in question. And it's for that reason that I haven't mulched heavily after the season is over. I've been worried I'm going to make it impossible for my perennials to come back!
you know Ronni--I just knew it when I wrote that. It did occur to me that you might wonder about this. If you look back to that paragraph, you will see that I said that the mulch would suppress some of the weeds. It is at that point that I was considerer writing more...But I had already written so much. My partner tells me that I am so often "long-winded". Well let me say this: The thick mulching will suppress many of the annual weeds that may attempt to germinate, or because of the thickness the weed seeds may just remain dormant and not come up. Perennial weeds will probably just grow right on through the mulch....and there-in lies the clarity for you. --weed seeds must germinate and therefore have no rooty support system and thus are either composted, rot or become dormant and do not come up. ---Perennial flowering plants that have been there a while and are situated, and have that rooty support system that will support their upward growth when they are coming out of the winter sleep. If the mulch layer is quite thick, it may take longer than usual, but they usually will make it. I witness this phenomenon every spring in my gardens. Is this clear, miss?
Thank you for asking Ronni, as that is something I've always wondered about but never thought to ask. And thank you Sjoerd, for explaining so that even I can understand it.
Ahhhh Ronni. What a nice thing to say. Thank you. I am just glad that I could make myself clear to you.
If you do not have a windy garden area I have had great results with cardboard. I lay it for large areas or for new beds. Multiple layers are needed of cardboard and are not very thick. I lightly cover with cedar mulch. It has successfully killed/suffocated weeds and seeds. In my third year my beds where I used this method only get a few surface weeds that are easily pulled. The cedar mulch has virtually done away with my slug problem used on paths and any trouble spots around hostas and lilies. Unless plants are dormant and this is done in the fall I would be hesitant to cover perennial crowns using multiple layers of cardboard since it has successfully killed large dandelion roots. The cardboard disappears under the mulch in a couple of seasons. Good luck getting your garden mulched. Mulch is definitely a gardeners friend whichever type you use.
