Consequences of Applying Too Much Mulch
Mulch is used around flowers, trees, shrubs and other plant life. It holds in moisture, adds nutrients to the soil and protects your plants while adding beauty and curb appeal to the home. While mulch should be applied liberally, too much can have devastating consequences for your plant life. Mulch should be roughly three inches deep. Learn the consequences of too much mulch to properly protect your plants.
- Too much mulch causes roots and bark to rot.
- Excessive mulch allows animals and insects to destroy stems and bark. Mice in particular like to scurry through mulch. The delicate stems and bark can be damaged beyond repair before it is noticed due to access piles of mulch.
- Cuts off oxygen supply to the roots, this causes roots to grow towards the surface. Trees and plants cannot survive with shallow roots. The same roots may even wrap around the plant and strangle it.
- Prevents water from reaching the soil. When mulch dries out during the hot summer months, it will start repelling water. With adequate levels of mulch, the water will flow through the mulch and reach the soil. When mulch is more than two or three inches high, the water cannot penetrate all the way to the soil, causing plants to die even as you continue watering them.
- Will not allow soil temperatures to increase. During the spring, the soil needs to warm up to allow flowers to bloom. Piles of mulch will not allow the temperature to rise correctly therefore spring and early summer flowers may bloom later and die sooner.
- Excessive mulch may mat during cold wet winters. This locks moisture into the soil and prevents air from drying out the roots. Excessive moisture will rot plants or cause mold and bacteria to grow on roots.
Refreshing mulch every six months is recommended since mulch does decompose over time. Ensure not to add too much mulch when applying new material to the old material.
- Add new mulch to existing materials. Rake the new and old mulch around gardens to mix up the materials and keep the mulch airy.
- Ensure to keep combined mulch levels to 2 to 3 inches.
- Mulch should not touch the base of trees or plants. Instead, keep mulch 1 to 2 inches away from the stem by forming a crater at the base of the plant.