How to Mulch Your Flowerbeds

 It is time to stop procrastinating, and get out there and mulch those flowerbeds.  If you know how to apply it properly, it can be a great timesaver.  I am not going to make the mistake of assuming that the flowers you intend to mulch are already planted so I will do a very basic and from the beginning how to guide.

Before doing anything to the soil, gardeners should amend the soil by an application of compost.  Incorporating compost or other organic materials into the soil, will greatly improve the quality of the home of the plants.  If gardeners do not create your own compost, a number of materials that individuals can use instead of compost.  You could use shredded leaves, grass clippings, or paper shreds as an alternative to compost.  Any organic material that has not fully decomposed should sit and complete the decomposition process for approximately one year.  I could go on and on here but I should continue on the mulch business.

Once the soil has been cultivated, the planting process can commence.  I am not going to give a detailed explanation of the planting process because different varieties of plants have differing needs.  You should research the plants that you are planning to incorporate into the landscape and plant accordingly.

The final thing that the gardener should do prior to applying the mulch is giving the planting area a nice watering.  Mulch does help greatly in the conservation of moisture, but if people do not water before they apply the mulch there just is not much moisture there to conserve.

The vast majority of plants are perfectly content with a 2 to 4 inch layer of mulch.  Each gardener should research his or her own particular plant species to make sure that the plants in their flowerbed have no special requirements.  Iris rhizomes, for example, do not like any mulch at all.
Landscapers should apply the mulch around the plants but it should not actually touch the crown of the plant.  Certain varieties of plants are prone to crown rot if mulch is touching the crown of the plant.  There is no need to smother the plant in an effort to protect it.

Mulching the flower garden is not a garden chore that is ever completed.  The mulch people apply today will decompose until it disappears.  Gardeners should continue to apply additional mulch annually.  Every additional layer of mulch that is applied will improve the underlying soil.  If you have bad soil, it will continue to improve slowly annually if gardeners continue to build it up using mulch.  If your soil requires large quantities of mulch in order to improve it there are a number of cheap mulch options available to the home gardener.