Remember that in the ground mulch covers the weather-side which is only the top. "Bone-dry" is a symptom of heat on the pot. In pots you get heat from all sides (except the bottom in most cases) so mulch is only easing the problem partly. Mulch with anything that shields the soil, and then shield the pots too if you can.

Yep mulch - whatever kind it is - works just as good in containers as it does in the garden.

Dave

I mulch all my container plants.

Rick

In hot climate mulching just the top of soil in container might be of little help. The pot having exposed surfaces can get hot anyway. Lite color pot/container can be helpful in dissipating some of the heat by radiation and reflecting most of the heat coming from direct sun.
Having said that, larger container can also be a plus. JMO

Sey

IMO mulching is one of those things i believe is a must-do if you really want to keep your plants happy. why? because it keeps the soil temps cooler and most importantly, helps keep the first few inches of the top soil from drying out so quickly,

i had several containers of tomatoes without mulch for about 3-4 weeks, i noticed there were barely any roots near the first 2-3 inches of soil. about a week after adding mulch roots have exploded and are now right below the first 1/2 inch of soil. i believe this helps the plant take up fertilizer and be more readily available to the plant when watering. i typically sprinkle tomato tone on the soil surface every few weeks and when watering the roots being close to the fertilizer helps them get what they need quicker.

if i had one thing to nitpick about mulching is when the time comes to fertilizing, it's sometime a PITA because you want to spread the fertilizer on top of the soil not the mulch so i often have to move away some of the mulch on each plant before i sprinkle the fertilizer. i then next season i am going to use straw because i think it will be easier to pull away from the plants when i fertilize.

<it's sometime a PITA because you want to spread the fertilizer on top of the soil not the mulch so i often have to move away some of the mulch on each plant before i sprinkle the fertilizer. >

Why not just switch to one of the many water soluble ferts. They work better in containers anyway.

Dave

water fertilizer would work, just tend to stick to organic and i can't seem to find liquid fertilizer that has higher PK ratios without breaking the bank. i do i use liquid based fish emulsion, but more as a helper to supply quick nitrogen to compliment the slower tomato tone/fish pellets fert.

BTW, if you look around in the spring time most areas the city typically does maintenance and goes out and trim and remove dead trees or trees that are vulnerable of falling during storms. they mulch them up and dump it around the town in wooded areas., a lot of times they're just driving around with a truck full of shredded trees.. keep an eye out where they are dumping it. i go collect some of it when it's fresh for mulching, then i go back a couple years later after it's turned into gold (compost). "Another mans trash is another mans treasure" .... for sure! ;)

Stevie...I make a slurry sometimes with my granular ferts. It is helpful to get it through the mulch and down to rootzone. Like others...I have been happy with the results of mulching my raised bed and containers. I roll my containers (usually black nursery pots-15 gal) with white latex paint. This helps with the hot container sides.