Mulch - Spring Landscaping Chores
March and April in southwest FL are some of the best months, weather wise (I will not discuss the traffic), to live here. The temperatures are consistently warm, but not hot with less humidity than our summer months. The plants are thriving, they come out of their slumber and this year with the long-awaited rain, spring has been good for our plants. Many folks are planting new plants, rearranging their existing landscape, and giving their tired and outdated green oasis a facelift.
Although the plants are obviously what everyone looks at, the often overlooked and sometimes the most important landscape chore homeowners miss is adding a new or fresh layer of mulch. Mulching is not a one and done chore. Mulch is vital to the health of our plants during the hot swamp and often drought we have from June to October. If last summer was any indication of how this summer will be, it is a good reminder to prep our plants just as our wintry weather friends prep their landscapes for winter.
The best and most cost-effective way you can protect your plants and increase the value of your landscape is mulching. Mulch insulates your plants roots from extreme heat. Think of it as sunscreen for your plant’s roots. It is like putting on a long sleeve shirt over your bare arms to keep them from burning. Mulch layers need to be replenished yearly to keep around two inches of fresh mulch. Year after year the mulch does biodegrade into the earth sinking what was once a lush covering. Mulch also helps with drainage and keeps pests and critters from digging around the base of your plants.
Mulch also gives your landscape the finished look it needs. A pop of color and icing on the cake. Not all mulch is created equally. Choose your mulch carefully. Those without dyes, as dyes leach into the soil and therefore into our waterways. There are options to receive free mulch through companies such as Chip Drop, but there are no guarantees what is in the mulch that could be an invasive plant or weed.
My preferred mulch is FloriMulch. FloriMulch is from the invasive Melaleuca trees in the Everglades. A west Florida company processes the bark, mulches, and bags for the end consumer. It is environmentally sustainable and helps remove an invasive species from our precious Everglades. Most garden centers and some big box retailers stock FloriMulch.
So, if you are looking for the finished look to your landscape and to protect your plants from the upcoming heat, mulch is the best friend you did not know you needed.
