How Often Should You Replace or Replenish the Mulch in Your Garden?
Posted on: 19 November 2019
If you plan on maintaining a beautiful and flourishing garden all year round, it's important you understand how best to use mulch. Mulch helps to keep away weeds and create optimal growing conditions for your plants and trees. However, mulch doesn't last forever. Therefore, you need to ensure that you replace or replenish it, depending on your needs, at the right time.
Are you unsure of the right mulch timeline for your garden? Then use the following tips to help you decide when to replace or replenish your garden mulch.
Harsh Weather Conditions Require Frequent Replenishment
Although weather conditions differ from one year to the next, it is clear that Australian weather is getting harsher. For instance, Australia experienced its hottest day on record last January. And depending on the area you live in, your garden is likely to experience these more extreme weather conditions. This will affect how often you need to replenish your mulch.
Although organic mulch can last several years, weather conditions can shorten that lifespan. Harsh winds and rain, for instance, may move your mulch around your garden. As such, you'll likely lose some over the months. In strong sunlight, wooden and dyed mulches fade and lose their attractiveness. These changes may require you to replenish your mulch 1–3 times per year.
Not replenishing your mulch will affect the aesthetic appeal of your garden.
Dyed and Non-Dyed Mulch Fades and Requires Replacement
You'll also need to keep an eye on the change in the shade of your mulch over the months. Faded, pale mulch will give your garden a sickly pallor, while dark or reddish wood mulch chips will give your garden a vibrant appearance. Thus, you should plan to replace faded mulch once a year, perhaps every spring, if your garden is visible to passersby, and you want it to serve as a focal point.
Different Mulches Have Different Lifespans.
Before you purchase mulch for your garden, ensure that you know how long it will last. One of the longest-lasting types of mulch is bark mulch, which can last several years. This is because nature designed tree bark to protect the wood of a tree. And when it comes to wood mulch, the larger the chunks, the longer its lifespan.
If you invest in wood shavings then be prepared to replace them at least once a year. When organic mulch stops breaking down, it no longer provides benefits like nutrients and moisture to your soil. Before you purchase mulch then, find out how long it is likely to last. The fresher the mulch, the better it looks, and the more it benefits your garden.
For more information, reach out to a mulch delivery service in your area.
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