Much Ado About Mulch

As you drive around town, admiring attractive landscapes, you may notice they usually have one thing in common -- mulch. Shrubs and plants and even trees look better with a layer of mulch underneath. Mulch provides a cover of uniform color and interesting texture to your landscape.

But as attractive as mulch is, the main purpose of mulch is not decorative but practical. A layer of mulch around your plants helps conserve moisture, moderate soil temperature and reduce weeds.

Mulch prevents loss of water from the soil by evaporation. It also prevents crusting of the soil, which causes rainfall to wash off instead of percolating down into the ground. Mulch acts as an insulator to keep the soil cool under intense sunlight and warm during cold spells. If mulch is applied deeply enough, it will prevent weed germination or smother existing smaller weeds.

Mulch should be applied in late spring, after the ground has warmed up. The area should be free of weeds before mulch is put down and the plants should be well watered. A layer of mulch 2 to 4 inches deep is sufficient, but keep it a couple inches away from the base of plants and trees to avoid disease and pest problems. Mulch can also be used in winter to protect roses and other plants that might not survive extreme cold.

So, what type of mulch should you use? That's a matter of personal preference, and there's plenty to choose from. Lavalette Nursery and Garden Center carries numerous types.

• Cypress mulch is preferred by many people because the color lasts a long tune -- it doesn't bleach out in the sun -- and it resists decay and tends to repel insects.
• Shredded hardwood bark mulch is not only dark and attractive, but it breaks down over the season and adds organic matter to the soil. It's also a West Virginia product.
• Pine nuggets and mini nuggets are lighter in color than hardwood bark mulch, but it also slowly breaks down to help the soil.
• Pine straw -- long pine needles -- is also an attractive and different-looking, long-lasting mulch. It provides the most coverage for the dollar.

Some of these shredded wood mulches come in colors. Lavalette carries an attractive red mulch -- colored with environmentally safe and long-lasting vegetable dye. This type of mulch looks good under evergreen foundation plantings, for example.

A recent introduction is cocoa shell mulch, which smells slightly like chocolate, has a dark brown color which darkens as it weathers, and it kills slugs and deters termites. Mushroom compost is also becoming popular. Both will break down and add nutrients to the soil. And many people use black peat as mulch.

If you want something different -- and more permanent -- consider reddish lightweight lava rock, white marble chips or round silica pebbles. A landscape fabric should be used under these types of mulch. This mulch, unlike the organic kinds that eventually break down, only has to be applied once.