How to Mulch for Evergreens
Mulching helps keep evergreens healthy and thriving by ensuring the soil has plenty of moisture and nutrients for their root systems. Mulch insulates the roots from changing temperatures and helps to retain soil moisture. In addition to these benefits, it also protects your evergreens from competition for nutrients from grass and weeds. Applying mulch to evergreens is a simple task, as long as you know which mulch to use and how much to apply. Choose a medium to coarse mulch material, such as wood or bark chips, wood shavings, pine needles, hedge trimmings, partially finished coarse compost or chopped corn cobs.
Lay the mulch around the trunk of the evergreen in a layer that is 2 to 4 inches deep, but do not place it right against the trunk. The mulch should form a doughnut around the tree, with a gap of about 2 inches between the trunk and the mulching material.
Extend the mulch out to at least as far as the branches extend around the base of the tree, or so that it covers a 4- to 5-foot-diameter area around the trunk. Most evergreens have root systems that reach beyond the spread of their branches, so the wider the mulched area, the better for your evergreen.
Use a rake or shovel to spread the mulch around until you have an even layer.
Check the mulch depth regularly and replenish to keep an even layer year-round.
- Although it is usually unnecessary, you can apply fertlizer to your evergreens with the mulch in place. You do not need to remove it.
- Never pile mulch up against an evergreen’s trunk. This creates ideal moisture conditions for insects, disease and decay.
- Do not lay plastic weed barriers, including plastic sheets, under the mulch. If you want to lay a weed barrier, use landscape fabric, which is porous and allows oxygen and water to move in and out of the soil.
- Fine-textured mulch, such as grass clippings and peat moss, hold a lot of moisture. Only use these in combination with coarser materials.
- Mulch is sometimes dyed to give an attractive color, but dark mulches absorb heat during the day and lose it at night, which can lead to heat injury.
- Some types of organic mulch, such as straw, manure and leaf litter, may contain weed seeds. These mulches must be treated or fully composted before use to avoid weed growth.
Renee Miller began writing professionally in 2008, contributing to websites and the "Community Press" newspaper. She is co-founder of On Fiction Writing, a website for writers. Miller holds a diploma in social services from Clarke College in Belleville, Ontario.