Raking scattered pine bark mulch back into flower beds.
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During heavy storms and strong winds, some types of mulch have a hard time staying put. When we bought our house, it came with fresh pine bark mulch, and after the first storm I found mulch scattered 25 feet out into the yard!
When that happens, mowing becomes difficult and dangerous, your sidewalks and driveways look messy, and your planting beds soon sprout weeds.
After putting all that work into spreading mulch in your garden, the last thing you want to do is spend time raking it back in after every rainstorm! Here are some tips for keeping mulch in your planting beds where it belongs.
Choose the Right Mulch
All mulches will float and wash away in a flood, but some are more likely to stray than others. Here are the common types of mulch and their floatability factor:
Chips and Nuggets: Wood chips and bark nuggets are infamous for floating away in heavy rain. If you go this route, get larger nuggets that will be heavier.
Shredded Bark or Wood: Shredded mulch is a good choice because the pieces tangle and hold each other down. Look for medium or coarse ground mulch with a mixture of large and soft pieces. Hardwood mulches are heavier – and stay in place – better than softwood (pine) mulch.
Pine Straw: Pine straw is my favorite choice because the needles entwine and help it stay put. For this reason pine straw is often used on slopes.
Remove Landscape Fabric and Plastic Sheeting
If your garden is on a slope or has a tendency to wash out, avoid putting landscape fabric or plastic sheeting underneath your mulch. These create a nice slick surface for the mulch to slide right out of the bed. Instead, to keep weeds at bay, apply multiple thin layers of mulch, watering each layer to help pack it down.
Edging the Beds
The only way to keep mulch completely in the flower bed or garden is to edge it with something high enough to hold in the mulch in place during a storm. Some ideas include:
Landscape Edging: Wood, metal, plastic, or stone edging can help keep mulch in its place. Make sure the edging is several inches high.
Plants: Edging plants make a great border to hold in mulch. Monkey Grass (Liriope sp.), Hostas, and ground covers are great choices if planted closely together along the edge of the bed.
Pine Straw Edging: Gardeners who love their bark or chip mulch may have success by edging the beds with a foot-wide row of pine straw to catch floating nuggets.
Trenching: A small trench (3-4” deep) around the edge of the flower bed can catch washed-out mulch before it gets into your grass. It’s easy to then rake it from the trench back into the bed.
Edging with Mulch: You can also try piling your mulch deeper around the edges of the bed to form a low barrier that may keep it from washing as much.
Help for Slopes
On steep slopes, you’re going to need to take additional measures if you want mulch to stay where you put it.
Ideally, steep slopes should be terraced to create smaller, flatter areas that will hold soil and mulch in place. Terraces help create more garden space, too.
Another option is to cover the mulch with bird netting, then use landscape fabric staples to hold the netting in place and keep the mulch from sliding downhill.
Further Information
Using Mulch in Your Garden (article)
Types of Mulch for Your Yard (video)
How to Choose Mulch for Your Yard (video)
Tips for Using Mulch in Your Garden (video)
How to Apply Mulch in Your Yard (video)
Danny Lipford
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Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.
or garden is to edge it with something high enough to hold in the mulch in place during a storm. Some ideas include: Landscape Edging: Wood, metal, plastic, or stone edging can help keep mulch in its place. Make sure the edging is several inches high.
The solution? Remove a section of mulch and replace the mulch with decorative stones from 2″ to 3″ in size. Of course these stones are not going to float away when they get hit with that amount of rain water. They stay put and the rest of the mulch in the beds also stays put.
Cypress much has an additional advantage over other wood mulches such as pine bark or cedar bark mulch or shredded hardwood mulch: due to its dense fibrous texture and weight, plus the way it is shredded, the pieces stick together and don't dislodge in heavy rain, that's why it is often sold as “no-float mulch."
Wood edging can enhance your landscape and keep the soil and mulch inside your garden bed. Flexible backing and sturdy spikes allow easy installation in a straight line, circle or curve. The staggered height of a half-log design gives a natural-looking border.
Some people may want to use plastic or geotextiles, such as landscape fabric, to separate certain mulches, such as inorganic stone mulch, from the soil, Day says. There's a belief that black plastic will keep weeds down.
It is not that the mulch is bringing in the termites, its that it is providing comfort and food! But there are some tips that can keep the buggers from devouring your house. 1. Keep at least a 6 inch space between your wood siding and the mulch so that the termites don't have direct access to your house.
When using mulch in your landscape, there is no need for the use of artificial weed barrier such as plastic or landscape fabric. These materials do not work and are not weed barriers. They are only necessary under stone.
Yes, it is okay to put mulch around your house provided that it's resistant to termites. Also, when using mulch for landscaping, ensure that you leave some space that's about six inches away from the house. This space creates a barrier that will make it harder for these pests cross over and invade your house easily.
This mulch is absolutely the best. Looks great, holds moisture well, and it absolutely 100% lives up to the “No float, stays where you put it” on the bag. I used it in my flower bed that is acting as a rain garden and it didn't budge as the bed filled with over 6 inches of water during a heavy rain.
Pine bark mulch also trails hardwood bark mulch when it comes to moisture retention in the soil. The lightweight wood can't quite hold in the moisture as well as heavier hardwood. Another effect of its low weight is that pine bark mulch is prone to floating away in rainstorms.
Organic mulches, like wood chips, leaves, and other plant materials, are best at keeping soil moist and moderating its temperature in hot and cold weather. They also add some nutrients and improve soil structure and drainage as they break down.
Finally, avoid large, bark type mulch or big wood chips. Since these big pieces take a long time to decompose, and they end up depriving the soil and plants of nutrients.
Chip or bark mulch is made from cypress or cedar trees and is very helpful for repelling bugs. Both cypress and cedar contain natural chemicals and oils like thujone that deter insects. Cedar chips repel, inhibit, or kill insects like: co*ckroaches.
The color of the mulch can actually have an affect on the type and number of insects that it attracts or repels. A 2000 study by the University of Tennessee found that black mulch attracted significantly more insects around tomato crops compared to silver reflective mulch.
To retain mulch on slope, we recommend heavier mulches like shredded wood mulch or pea gravel. These materials are less likely to wash away. Additionally, using netting, such as jute or burlap, secured with landscaping pins, pegs, or twine, can help keep mulch from sliding downhill.
Treat the soil with a pre-emergent herbicide before mulching. In some cases, especially around trees and shrubs, you can also lay down landscape fabric before mulching. It lets air and water into the soil but blocks weeds from growing.
Medium Term Storage (1 – 2 Months): If you're in an area expected to get rain within this time, use a tarp and stakes to cover the pile. Stakes should keep the edges of the tarp off the pile and ground and allow air flow.
Ground pine bark makes a good heavy mulch that is even harder for the wind to dislodge. You can support the wind proof mulch by planting wind barriers on the side of your garden where the prevailing wind blows.
Introduction: My name is Kareem Mueller DO, I am a vivacious, super, thoughtful, excited, handsome, beautiful, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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