Pine straw is effective, and durable.

No color, the dyes are suspect to me. I prefer cedar chips or cedar root mulch.

I do get the brown mulch. I like the way it sets off the roses. It's supposedly a vegetable dye, so not toxic.

I used to get the free arborist mulch from the city but they started charging for it so I switched to the brown mulch, a little more expensive but they load it for free, the city mulch I had to load. They told me veg. dye like Buford says & the mycorrhizae establish in it real well so I'm happy with it.

The Soil, Compost and Mulch forum is another good place to post your query, Sara-Ann. Lots of mulch people there.

I use the black cedar mulch. Brown is nice too. It makes the colour of your plants pop. I find the red mulch clashes with many flower colours & a bit jarring to the eyes. I also spread compost & manure. Then top dress with the cedar mulch.

The colored mulches are usually hardwood waste, pieces of byproduct wood mixed with sawdust, not bark.

They decompose extremely quickly, and change their job from functioning as a mulch, and turn into compost, becoming a part of the soil. This is good because the soil is built up with the compost wood, but the mulch job goes wanting.

Mulch functions best when it is not a part of the soil. It is a barrier lying on top of the soil: keeping the soil cooler, shading the soil and weed preventing, allowing air to reach the soil surface, conserving moisture, reducing erosion, preventing soil crusting, reducing soil compaction, and minimizing soil/mud from splashing up onto the foliage.

The best mulches, IMHO, are any of the evergreen BARK mulches: pine, spruce, fir, etc. They function as a mulch, and last 4 times longer than wood mulches before they eventually do decompose and no longer function as a mulch, needing to be replaced/topped off far less frequently.

The evergreen bark mulches are actually cheaper in the long run. The resins they contain are also somewhat antiseptic and insecticidal.

Moses

I found that with the pine bark nuggets they could actually form a barrier and not allow moisture in to the soil. And it floated away in heavy rain. I don't mind replacing the mulch every year or two and I like that it adds to the soil.

Flowers, the arborist wood chips sound great. Do you actually apply 4-6 inches deep the first article suggested?

Closer to 4", Sheila. I have a mountain of the stuff after having 40+ tall pines felled 2 years ago. They hauled off the logs, and ran all the branches through the chipper and left that here. I've found all the claims in the articles to be true - the ground stays so moist, I don't have to water until mid summer, earthworms are plentiful, and it keeps my beds weed free. I put about 4" down before winter. It decomposes and becomes part of the soil so quickly, I put a thinner layer down in the spring - if I get around to it. I think it's the winter layer that's important in my climate. There are better woods than pine, but that's what I have, so that's what I use. I was used to losing 10 to 15 roses every year to winter kill - out of about 150, before I started using it. The first year I used it, I didn't lose a single rose.

I appreciate all the input and good information.

I use the bagged black mulch . I'd love to switch over to the natural bark but I have been using the black for so long. As my roses get bigger and need less mulch I will probably switch. The black fades so saucily nowadays. I also find the red to be too much to my eyes.

I use Florimulch from Lowes. It is made from the melaleuca trees that are invasive and trying to take over. It comes dyed and undyed. I buy the undyed.

I use Cocoa mulch , a bit expensive but it is organic and effective and looks beautiful

I was under the impression that mulch in general isn't very good for roses....? I'm always teachable - so do tell! I have been putting a fresh layer of compost on my rose garden each year, to dress the garden. And then I just weed it as needed. I love using mulch on the rest of my garden --- so if I can use it on my rose garden too, all the better!

Mulch is just whatever may be applied to the top of the soil as a layer of protection (weed suppression, preserving soil moisture, moderating temperature fluctuations, etc.), so spreading a layer of compost is actually mulching :-) In fact, compost is my preferred mulch - good texture, dark color and nutrient rich. But it does need to be replaced frequently.

Mulch is good for ANY plant type, roses included. You just need to pick the most suitable type of mulch for the application. And much of that has to do with what is readily available in your area. Any readily available plant-based mulch would work, although I would tend to stay away from the dyed ones.....they do NOT look the slightest bit natural!! And inorganic mulches (lava rock, gravel, rubber mulch) have more negatives than positives re: their use so I'd avoid them as well.

gardengal48,

Just a comment about dyed mulch: I know that a lot of people really like them.

Red mulch makes a contrast next to a green lawn and draws the eye. I am not a fan of it but I can understand why some may like it. I used red mulch for a path through my raised garden beds to make the path stand out more, but the red is a bit much.

Brown mulch I suppose is to make it look more like the original coloring (more like bark I guess) instead of being faded to various shades gray/yellow which bothers some people.

Black mulch gives a look more like using compost. This is what I use since I often use both compost and a wood mulch, and I prefer a more uniform color. Black makes the color of the foliage and flowers stand out better, IMO.

I use leaves from our various deciduous trees and pine straw because we have so much of it on the farm...I would go broke buying mulch for all my beds. It's great if you need soil improvement since it breaks down so quickly, but requires replacing more frequently than nugget type mulch...so might not be the best option if purchasing.

The horticultural view on dyed mulches differs significantly from popular opinion :-) But aside from the dubious aesthetic appeal - it is the plants that should stand out, not the mulch!! - dyed mulch is made from scrap or waste wood. It is not a natural byproduct of the timber industry like bark or wood chip mulches are but just a profitable way to recycle wood waste. And that waste will include wooden shipping pallets that can be contaminated with all manner of materials, construction debris that can contain plywood or OSB or laminated wood containing glues and other toxic chemicals (lead paint, etc.) as well as treated wood. Any or all of these can have a negative impact on healthy plant growth. The dyes themselves are inconsequential although they do prevent or delay the wood from breaking down and decomposing as nature intended.

And since dyed mulches tend to be as expensive (if not more so ) than a natural wood mulch, there is really no compelling reason to opt for these. Unless you like florescent red or blue or green in your garden. Not my preference at all!!

I use homemade yardwaste compost under roses then use wood mulch made out of local trees in the area outside that area...But our area is wetter (rain) compared to your area so wood mulch under roses might not hurt anything like it does here ...

I swear by Pine Bark Nuggets. My issue with mulch is that it compacts after a short period of time and begins to break down, creating a perfect spot for weeds and their seeds to germinate. With Pine Bark Nuggets, you'll still get the weeds trying to establish but it's much easier to shift the mulch around and de-root the weeds. I still used the red mulch this year because because I bought it during the annual sale at Lowes where it's $1 a bag, but I will be systematically covering over the red mulch with the pine bark nuggets as funds make it possible.

Another concern you may want to note about the natural or even dyed mulches is that, coming from recycled waste wood, you may import termites to your yard. This is the reason I'm always reticent to go to my local municipality for free mulch.

Good Luck!

Adrian.

Adrian,

A lot of people actually like the fact that the wood mulch breaks down. That way it adds nutrients and some structure to the soil. But at the same time it doesn't break down as fast as compost, and so doesn't need to be replaced that often. The thickness of the layer (4 inches or so) is supposed to prevent the gapping as it starts to decompose or if it shifts a bit.

I like pine bark nuggets but in shrub-only areas. The ones I have seen are too large/coarse for a bed with perennials, and the size of them also means that there are more gaps to allow weeds unless you make the mulch layer really, really thick. Now, since this is a rose forum then they may be fine in a rose-only bed, but I like my mulched beds to match and so I try to use the same mulch types across beds.

I do appreciate how long the bark nuggets last though. The ones I put down in a bed 4 years ago barely look any different this spring!

I like the bagged black mulch from Lowe's. It really makes the plants pop, as others have said. It didn't fade and broke down nicely so scraping it off isn't necessary. I only refresh the very top every 2 years.

I have seen people use the red mulch, eee gads it's bright! I don't like it either, but apparently they do. To each their own.