Hi, I have a question. It might be even stupid, but I don't know the anwer. Can I mulch perennial flowers and bulbs? I know I can mulch the bushes, but I would like to get rid of the weeds and put mulch around all my perennial plants. Can I do this? Will the plants be able to germinate and grow through the mulch the next year?? Thanks!
i always put down a thick layer (6 to 8 inches) of crushed leaves around all my plants and over the areas where the bulbs and other perenials are. i put the leaves in and then crush them by hand and pack them down a bit and through on some more and repeat the crumbling/packing down. it usually rains at some point and that packs them down a bit more. once more, i'll put in some more and crumble and pack them down. i also use the white plastic coated wire edger things...the cheap ones you can find at any 'dollar' store...around the edges of the beds so that the leaves don't blow away. it's worked very well for me for all my plants and i know my glads are thankful that i do it (i really should be pulling them up in my zone).
Yes, that's a good idea, but I forgot to mention I don't have so many leaves. If I mulch, it would be some kind of chips, like cedar, the ones that you usually see in parks. I will have to buy my mulch.. I wish I had trees with the leaves, but the only two I have are: black walnut and oak, and somebody told I can't use leaves from these 2 trees. Right?
Oak at least takes a while to break down but still works. There may be an acid problem. I use wood shavings including what they were refering to as "American Walnut" may be yr black walnut. It seems fine and stuff is thriving. Straw is another good one and breaks down fairly quickly. Wood chips are great we get a lot of chips from our eucalyptus here and also a mixture of all sorts of stuff when it comes from the recyclers. I always put a bit of blood and bone down (bone meal) to make sure the decomposing cycle happens with out the plant suffering because of nutrient deficiancy. Mulching happens naturaly on the forest floor and is a plus for any garden in particular where one is not allowed to use water (restrictions) Liz
i've not heard that you shouldn't use those types of leaves. mostly what i have is maple - with some other kinds mixed in (oak included) and i've never seen any problems. if the oak leaves (that you have available) can cause an acidity problem, then buy enough mulch for at least a 1-2 inch layer and then put the leaves on top (will be a little less expensive than buying enough mulch to have a 6 inch layer). you're going to remove the leaves in the spring anyway and you'll have a nice base, with the other mulch, to work with. i usually use licorice root mulch and there's always a bit of it left in the beds in the fall - i leave it and put the leaves on top. then i pull the leaves in the spring and put more of my preferred mulch down for the summer.
joclyn can I ask why you remove mulch in spring? Found this re oak leaves seems they are ok. http://solutions.psu.edu/Horticulture_Gardening_Landscaping_338.htm In my soil which is high in acid it just makes it more so but not that I see as a problem. The hortensia (sp) just get bluer and more purple
i leave some of the leaf mulch in the spring...usually the bottommost layer as it's already pretty well decomposed...i lightly turn it into the top portion of the soil and then top it with the licorice root stuff. 6-8 inches of crushed leaves is just too much to leave! thanks for that link!!
Thank you so much for this link. I knew I was okay with my English walnut leaves and was pretty sure on my pine needles. But this website helped in all areas of composting. Its like finding gold under my blue spruce and ponderosa pine trees. I've already been using honey locust tree leaves and stems pine needles that fall into my koi pond which of course mixes with fish and lily pad waste so makes a great compost or mulch. But really never used the blue spruces needles, just the space underneath to dump sand and bark piles I got from the nurseries and sand and gravel pits. Now I'm using the naturally composted blue spruce needles to mix in with my clay soil which is to help pull out weeds and that pesky quake grass. Whatever it is that grows into everything and takes over with its long runners.
