Although mulch can help to control weeds and erosion, retain moisture, and increase soil nutrients, it can threaten the well-being of any plant if applied too heavily. There are two important requirements to keep in mind when applying mulch:

1. PLANT STEMS SHOULD NEVER BE COVERED BY MULCH.

–The stem (or trunk) of a plant is prone to insect entry and rot when in contact with mulch or soil. Also, when plants are mulched too deeply, girdling roots tend to grow from the bark of the trunk above the root collar, following the soft mulch around the tree; they eventually harden into a noose that can strangle the plant. It is extremely important to keep mulch away from plant stems.

–To find where the stem or trunk begins, locate the root collar. This collar is the dividing line between the stem and the roots, usually found at the flared portion of the trunk to which the roots attach. NO MULCH SHOULD BE APPLIED ABOVE THIS POINT. If the root flare is not be visible and the trunk looks like a telephone pole when it disappears into the earth, the roots are buried too deeply.

2. MULCH SHOULD BE POROUS.

–The smaller roots of a plant (just below the soil surface) need to breathe. When mulch is too deep, the flow of water and air to and from the roots is cut off. The finer the mulch, the thinner the application should be. Fine, soil-like mulch should only be applied about one inch thick; coarse mulch can be applied to a depth of three inches. Previous years’ mulch should be raked away from plants before adding new mulch, as it will have become compacted and, if not removed, can build up and suffocate plants.

At Hanselman Landscape, we regularly use Pine straw mulch (pictured below) in our gardens, since it provides attractive, breathable coverage and is easier to spread than hardwood mulches. For the benefit of our clients and their valuable plants, we are pleased to offer this healthier mulch option. Call us if you are interested in this healthy option for your garden plants: 717-653-1273.

Contributed by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& Pine straw mulch enthusiast)

“Hark, I hear a robin calling!

List, the wind is from the south!

And the orchard-bloom is falling

Sweet as kisses on the mouth.

In the dreamy vale of beeches

Fair and faint is woven mist,

And the river’s orient reaches

Are the palest amethyst.

Every limpid brook is singing

Of the lure of April days;

Every piney glen is ringing

With the maddest roundelays.

Come and let us seek together

Springtime lore of daffodils,

Giving to the golden weather

Greeting on the sun-warm hills.”

~ Lucy Maude Montgomery

(Canadian author of beloved Anne of Green Gables series; 1874-1942)

Joyfully shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& eager spring celebrant)

They ran from one part of the garden to another and found so many wonders that they were obliged to remind themselves that they must whisper or speak low. He showed her swelling leafbuds on rose branches which had seemed dead. He showed her ten thousand new green points pushing through the mould; They put their eager young noses close to the earth and sniffed its warmed springtime breathing; they dug and pulled and laughed low with rapture . . . . There was every joy on earth in the secret garden that morning.”

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett (from her children’s classic, The Secret Garden)

Joyfully shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& huge fan of all gardens, secret & otherwise!)