A fine layer of pine bark will work very well to conserve moisture in container plantings.
The only concern that I have with my own containers is that the mulch makes a nice place
for pests to hide - such as slugs, ear-wigs, and even sow bugs (though these aren't too much
of a concern typically).

Josh

Here in Arizona, I mulch everything.

From time to time, I look and move it around to make sure there's no critters, like Josh speaks of hiding in it..:)

JoJo

Just a fine layer is all that is recommended? I have a shefflera out on my porch that has almost 2" of pine bark around it. Is that too much?

Hi Plant lover..
Here we need it fairly thick.. Az. gets very hot! I use at least an inch.

Where Josh is , is a little cooler.. so hopefully he can get by here and offer more advice, or others from your area.

JoJo

The two things I would use to decide if mulch was appropriate are:

* Is the soil shaded by the canopy of the plant? If it is, mulch won't serve to keep the soil cooler by shading it, in fact, it MAY serve to elevate soil temperatures by preventing heat absorbed through the container walls from escaping and diminishing the cooling effects of water evaporating from the soil surface.

* Am I unable to keep up with the plants water needs? If you are, you don't need the mulch, unless the planting is immature and there is direct sun on the soil, then see immediately above.

Al

You know Al, that's a factor I've already considered, because I have put some around a couple of my plants and it does make it difficult to tell when it needs water. What I do is pull the mulch back and do the finger test.

I really never thought about the fact that it could cause the problems that you've mentioned pertaining to heat build up and the lack of it's ability to escape. My logic in mulching was providing moisture to the plant longer.

Matthew

We could make it a rule of thumb, that plantings requiring more frequent watering are almost invariably healthier plantings.

Al

I know that this is not my original question, but in Al's soil mix he mentions the use of macro-nutrient powder.

Can anyone tell me what to look for, and where to get it?

Matthew