How often do you put down more (or new) mulch?

[Anonymous]

I did not grow up in this area and mulch was a totally new concept for me when I became a homeowner. Our house has A LOT of flower beds.

How often to you mulch? What time of year do you usually mulch? Do you do it yourself or pay a landscaper to do it?

If you do it yourself, do you rake up the old mulch, or just lay new mulch on top? Are you buying bags? Do you have the mulch delivered?

What about edging between the flower beds and lawn....how often are you doing that and what do you use?

It kinda of hurts to think about spending a few hundred dollars on mulch - every year. But, maybe that is just what you have to do.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I usually wait until after the spring flowers are gone and I've planted my summer annuals. Mulch has to be replenished every year in my experience.

As for edging, we use the rubber stuff that you stake down into the ground to separate the beds from the lawn. We edge the grass with a trimmer.

[Anonymous]

We do it every spring and towards the end of summer. Our yard guy does it and handles ordering it and bringing it to our house.

[Anonymous]

We pay gardeners to do it twice a year, spring and fall.

[Anonymous]

I wait to mulch after the oak trees have dropped their horrible brown stuff (I'm guessing early May). I pay for spring clean up, which includes edging the beds and laying the mulch. You lay the new mulch on top of the old. I only do it in the spring, but some neighbors do spring and fall.

[Anonymous]

Yearly, DIY.

[Anonymous]

I have to do it annually. We have too much wash away because of a sloped yard that goes into a creek. Costs a fortune, but I don't know what else to do.

[Anonymous]

Once a year in the spring, DIY.

Put the new mulch on top of the old mulch. You don't want more than a total of three inches of mulch.

I buy bags at Home Depot and haul them home myself, but I have a very small yard. For a larger yard, it may turn out to be cheaper to get a bulk delivery of mulch.

Edging--I cut a line with a shovel to separate the yard from the garden. I should do this 2x per year and then trim with a weed wacker when I mow the lawn.

[Anonymous]

We do it once a year, the landscapers do it with the spring clean up. It could stand to be done in the late summer but we don't bother.

People differ on the value of mulching. In theory it keeps down weeds and retains moisture. But it's primarily cosmetic.

You can use different strategies in different parts of the yard. You can go with pine needles or no mulch in some parts. You can use nuggets, which don't break down as quickly so can last a couple of years, in some parts. Maybe reserve the shredded mulch for beds in the front and adjacent to the house?

[Anonymous]

We pay someone to put down new mulch every Spring.

[Anonymous]

mulch stinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:mulch stinks.

Yeah, it's some expensive shit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:mulch stinks.

Yeah, it's some expensive shit.

+1

[Anonymous]

Not sure where you're located, but you can look into free mulch if you have a truck or could borrow one. Fairfax County I-66 transfer station offers free mulch.

[Anonymous]

I do it every spring- will be doing it in the next week or so and planting my flowers by the end of the month. If you want to lessen the need for mulch, do like we did. Plant more ground covers and return some of the flower beds back to grass. There were two flower beds in our front yard (one huge circle in the middle, one along the walkway) that we dug up, leveled, and grew grass from seed. So happy we did - it's easier to mow, I have less to weed, and fewer plants to maintain.

For ground covers, we use liriope (research what type for your area - clumping or spreading), hostas (if you have deer - avoid), and vinca. Here's some more ideas - http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-609/426-609_pdf.pdf