Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [mulch]

Mulches are gardener-applied ground covers.

The term refers to a ground cover artificially applied to mimic natural leaf cover. Mulches are usually applied to provide nutrients, retain moisture, reduce erosion, for visual appearance, and/or suppress weed growth.

A range of different materials can be used for mulching, including wood chips, pine needles, leaves, cardboard, manure, compost, grass clippings, and gravel. Note that most of these are organic in origin and will eventually break down. Some will provide nutrients (e.g. compost) whilst others will change the soil chemistry and deter the growth of particular plants (e.g. pine needles).

Use these tags for all questions about applying mulches. Questions about specific mediums (e.g. "how to create compost") should use the appropriate tag instead. Use the mulch tag for questions about applying these mediums.

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How to use hazelnut shells in the garden

I eat a lot of raw hazelnuts (I love them!) I have been trying to use the cracked shells in the garden for years. Here is a list some of my attempts: Composting them. This wasn't very effective, as they hardly break down at all within a composting…
usumdelphini
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Manually dying mulch

I have a pretty big yard with a lot of old trees, as a result I own a wood chipper and produce a fairly hefty volume of mulch (several yards a year). I use the mulch in my gardens but for the decorative ones I would prefer an evenly colored mulch…
PGmath
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Mugho Pine browning

I have a Mugho pine in my front yard this is browning. I've examined it and it appears that dead needles and excess mulch exist, and roots are growing up into the mulch -- a process that I've read is not healthy. I'd like to clear away some of the…
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Is it safe to use fresh pittosporum mulch?

We have a pittosporum hedge and I would like to mulch the prunings and use them on our garden. I have been told that using fresh pittosporum mulch is not safe but I can’t find out why not.
Kendall Lister
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Do I need to put a pile of wood chips on top of my potatoes?

I planted my potatoes near the surface so I could get the plants going quicker. Should I put a pile of wood chips on top of each potato, or build up the pile of wood chips as the season goes on?
black thumb
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What is best to use for mulch in a garden?

I bought some natural cypress mulch for my tomatoes and then I was told not to use it because it would steal nitrogen. What is the best mulch and is there one that you can till in after the garden is gone?
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Can blueberry bushes survive in clay soil long term with the right help?

Last year I planted three 1-year-old blueberry bushes in my back yard in clay soil and I've added several inches of mulch and soil amendments, but have a feeling that they won't do well in clay soil long term. If I keep adding organic material/mulch…
Mark Witmer
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What to do with surplus thuja leaves after pruning?

We all know that there are tons of thuja leaves after pruning thuja hedges. Can thuja leaves be used as mulch (perhaps for acid-loving plants, let's say young pines, or vaccinum)? What if they are put in a compost pile? I've read something about…
VividD
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Do Pine Bark Nuggets stop weeds from growing in a lawn?

I have a bare area in my lawn where weeds grow fast. I want to buy many bags of nuggets to cover the area to stop the weeds. Do pine bark nuggets stop weeds from growing?
Love
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What fungus is this?

I've got several patches of this fungus growing in my mulch. It grows in roughly a circular patch, and produces these growths above the surface. The effected area binds together into a disk, and when broken and flipped it reveals a white mossy…
tom.dietrich
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How do I feed shrubs sitting in mulch?

My flower beds have landscaping fabric covering them, with 2-3 inch depth of mulch sitting on top. Are there any ways to feed my plants that don't require me to remove the fabric and mulch? Up until now, all I have done is water them.
Sebastian Patten
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Should I be Concerned About Mildew, etc. on Mulch?

Sadly, the brand names for bagged mulch found in the "Big Home Improvement" stores are pretty low quality nowadays. I put down some recently in my garden bed and almost immediately after a big rain noticed what I assume is some sort of white powder…
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Can I sheet mulch over perennial bulbs?

By sheet mulching I mean laying cardboard and then 2-3 inches of mulch on top of it. I want to do this to an area with daffodils. Since they have already bloomed, is it ok to do this, and in theory, if the cardboard has biodegraded by next spring,…
brown thumb
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Green giant Arborvitae natural fence

I want to create a 100 ft natural fence using Green Giants in the back row (30-50 ft ht) and staggering western green giant (15-30 ft ht)in the front. Is it best to mulch around each plant and mow the grass between them while they are young, or just…
Deb
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What type of garden shredder produces the finest mulch?

When pruning bushes/trees in our garden we get a lot of waste branches that (up to now) were just piled up in a gigantic pile. Last year we also discovered wood chip mulch (store bought) for spreading around the berry bushes and reducing weeds while…
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