There are many types of mulch both inorganic like stone and lava rock and organic like wood, coco husk and others. Shredded bark is among the most popular mulch materials. It holds moisture for your plants, helps prevents weeds from germinating and gives your flowerbeds, trees and other landscape features a uniformed finished look. Let us take a look on how to choose and use shredded bark mulch.
When it comes to choosing bark mulch, you will find a variety of choices made from different tree species. All will eventually decompose. Cyprus mulch holds up better than most. Choose the bark mulch that you think will look best where you are going to use it. Keep in mind that artificially colored mulches will likely fade within a season.
You will have to determine how much mulch you need. Mulch is sold in two ways; in bags by cubic feet or in bulk by cubic yards. As a guideline, a hundred square foot area will require just under one cubic yard or about 25 cubic feet of bark mulch to cover the area to a depth of 3 inches. If you want to make precise calculations, here is the formula.
Measure the square foot, the side of the area or areas where you will use the mulch. Take the mulch length multiplied by width. Divide this number by 27. Twenty-seven is the number of cubic feet in a cubic yard. Divide again by 12, the number of inches in a foot. If you want a three inches layer of mulch, multiply by three. The resulting number is the amount of mulch you will need in cubic yards. For example, a flowerbed measuring 20 feet by 5 feet is equals100 square feet. Then you take 100 divided by 27, which equals 3.7. You would then divide 3.7 by 12, which equals 0.3 and 0.3 multiplied by three inches equals 0.92 cubic yards or just under one cubic yard.
You can multiply by 27 to find your answer in cubic ft. Twenty-seven multiplied by 0.92 equals 24.9 or about 25 cubic ft. Before you add mulch to flowerbeds, fertilize your plants with an appropriate fertilizer. This will allow the fertilizer to reach the plants roots rather than be absorbed and held in the mulch. Spread the mulch evenly with a rake in larger beds or a hand rake in small beds or around delicate plants.
Keep the mulch away from plant stems. You do not want to bury your plants. When mulching around tress, create a doughnut effect with the mulch not a volcano. Place the ring of mulch two or three inches thick in a circle around the tree. Preferably reaching out as far as the trees drip line where the top of the tree ends. It is very important to pull mulch away from the base of the tree creating the doughnut effect. Placing mulch up against the tree trunk can cause the bark to decay inviting insects and disease to take hold which can eventually kill the tree.
Bark mulch generally last a couple of years before it breaks down. How long it will look good depends on the type of bark mulch you use and the weather in your area. To freshen up tired looking mulch gently rake it. You can add a fresh light top layer. Just remember, your goal is to maintain a depth of no more than about two to three inches.
Properly used, bark mulch provides a great finishing touch to your landscape. Here is a quick tip; keep a bag of mulch on hands so you will have it to freshen up flowerbeds before we can gather in or to cover up a muddy area or walkway in your yard until you have time to repair it.
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