I'm not sure someone else will know. I don't have them available here but they can form a mat so be careful not to let them touch the trunk or it can cause rot. I would use hardwood mulch if you can get it. Someone else that has pines may know better.

lmao..Karyn would know..the dreaded pines!!!!

Thank yall for you responses. Has anyone here used pine needles as mulch?
David

David

Brugs like soil with a pH of around 6.8-7.0- that more on the alkaline side and your pine needles would make your soil more acidic as they break down. You can use your needles but put down a good layer of newspaper first to keep them off the soil.

I'm using straw on the seedling beds. I use it on my veg garden too.

Linda

Thank yall so much, your responces are very helpful.
-David-

No pine needles or mulch, please!!

I HATE PINE NEEDLES!!!!!! DON'T USE THEM FOR ANYTHING. We bag up about 100 of the giant yard waste bags every season thanks to my neighbors %&$% trees!
Karyn

KHT why can't you mulch brugs?

I second what karyn1 just said and it's hard to breath up under them!! You should see my deck when the wind kicks up!
deerslayer08, mulch takes away from what you feed a brug.
We just put out 16 cu yard of mulch on the yard and we try to leave a circle around each plant base due to it takes the nitrogen. You don't want to smother them and they need the air around their feet/base. There are certain plants you can mulch around and some that it's a no no. Hostas, Irises and Brugs are things I won't mulch. Nanas and Roses love the added moisture and heat mulch generates.

I have everything but the irises & peonies mulched. I've done it this way for 30 years. I live where it gets cold so maybe that makes a difference. The straw around the brugs is only about 2 inches deep & not really thick & also not right up to the stem. It just shades the ground & keeps it from drying out in the sun. I ran out in the last raised bed & compared, it really makes a difference. It does give the slugs a place to hide but I just deal with them. I have colored wood chips in the rest of the yard & in the past I have used grass clippings or shredded newspaper.

Everyone has a way that works for them & the only way to find out what works for you is to experiment. Try mulching one lightly & see how it does. It does cut weeding to almost nothing.

Linda

I'll try mulching one, and not mulching the other, the reason I was wanting to mulch was because I don't want weeds around them because I'm liable to hit one with the weed eater while weed wackin.

I live in FL and have always heavily mulched my brugs and they grew to 16 foot+ when I did that and also heavily bloomed, so I do not understand why mulching is not recommended. With my recent move I did not mulch much yet and the 100+ I have in the ground are just not doing well despite amendeding soil, and fertilizing once a week with bone meal, blood meal, kelp, fish emulsion etc. I found in the past the mulch kept the soil moist so I would not have to water as much and they thrived. I use cypress mulch, and have had great results. Is this wrong???

It certainly is not wrong to have great results.

What will work for some, will not work for others, and visa versa. So much depends upon the consistency of the soil. I used to mulch, but don't now for most plants, although I admit I do have one brug in a pot mulched, but none in the ground.

I agree with jroot if it helps the soil then do it. Here in the PNW where it rains, rains, rains and more rain, it would hold in the moisture and one can loose a brug by doing so. There is a difference in the mulches that are used also. Here is a pine mulch that takes from the plants it's put around and we took our a cypress tree that the guys used a chain saw with. I made a utility path with it thought the hostas patch. I have noted that they hostas near this path are much bigger than in the other areas? Than mulch sunk into the clay faster than the other mulch that was used.

Ooo, that's right. It's definatly different for everybody! In the fall I rake all of my fallen pine straw and leaves right into the beds. Then in the spring I like to put cypress mulch on top of all that. I'm in GA and we have heavy clay soil here. Well I don't, but everybody around me does. I've got great soil because of all the mulch. At least that's my take on it. The only plants I keep the mulch away from are the bearded iris.

Thank yall for your opinions, but, I gues I'll just just try different ways for myself, seeing how It works different for everybody. I'll mulch some, not others, and see how it turns out. Thanks for the help.
David

I didn't even think about areas with a lot of rain since other than last year we never have much, lol. I haven't mulched yet but plan to to help retain moisture. I just don't use it right up against the base of any plants.

I will mulch the formal beds of hedges in the front yard but don't care to mulch much else, unless it's with large nuggets. Even in dry years we have hot days and cool nights which leads to condensation and causes Dog Vomit slime molds all over the mulch. It isn't bad for anything just very unsightly IMO. I do like the look of nicely mulched beds but can't stand when the slime starts growing. I used to use cacao shell mulch years ago and really liked it but had to stop using it when we got Bailey as it can kill a dog.
Karyn

Lol, I like to use the hardwood nuggets but haven't gotten hubby to go get them yet. A cool summer night here is about 75 and thats after a cold front, lol.