The Best Mulch for your Michigan Landscaping
If your commercial property apartment complex or other property type needs mulch, you might be confused by all the choices. What’s the difference between mulches? Which one is best for your project? Which is the best value for the money? It’s hard to get a straight answer and pick a clear favorite.
Fortunately, the experts at the Michigan State University Extension Office have studied several types of landscape mulch and have some advice for you.
Mulch Basics: Organic vs Inorganic
To begin, you need to understand a fundamental difference between types of mulch: organic and inorganic. While you might be familiar with the term “organic” as it’s used in the grocery store, it means something different to your mulch supplier. An organic mulch is one that comes from a plant and will break down over time. Examples include wood mulch, straw, pine needles, and leaves. An inorganic mulch will not decompose over time. Examples include rock and synthetic materials like rubber.
So which is better? Organic mulches fertilize and enrich the soil as they break down. If you are growing plants in your landscaping, organic mulches are better because they provide needed nutrients. Organic mulches such as shredded bark, compost and pine needle provides a naturally slow-release form of nitrogen for plants as it breaks down. If you want to improve the health of your plants while keeping your landscaping looking great, the experts recommend an organic wood mulch.
Which mulches are the best at stopping weeds?
All mulches smother weeds and prevent them from growing by blocking the light they need to germinate. But some mulches actually emit chemicals that suppress and even kill weeds. Weed scientists call this allelopathy.
Some trees have compounds in their tissues that are allelopathic to surrounding plants. When they are turned into mulch, they can help keep your landscaping looking great by slowing or stopping weeds. Scientists have observed this effect with black walnut and cypress.
If you have problems with weeds in your landscape beds, talk to your mulch expert about cypress or black walnut. These mulches might be the best choice for you.
Which mulches look best?
Another advantage of wood mulch is its clean, neat appearance. Experts especially recommend the warm, natural appearance of cypress mulch. As an added benefit, cypress is more rot resistant because of its naturally occurring compounds known as phenolics. If you are looking for a long-lasting, attractive mulch, cypress is a great choice.
Scientists also studied colored mulches made from recycled pallets. These mulches showed good weed suppression and good moisture conservation. The down side to this type of mulch is that it easily moves outside of the beds where it is placed. Downpours, lawn mowers and foot traffic tend to kick it out of the bed and into a lawn. If you have a low-traffic area away from downspouts, colored mulch is an attractive and effective option.
Which mulch is best for enriching the soil?
All organic mulches break down and fertilize plants, but some are better than others. If you have poor soils in your landscaping, a fertilizing mulch can help. Scientists recommend hardwood bark or shredded bark for this task. This product performed well in the trial for weed suppression and moisture conservation. It tends to decompose more quickly, which allows plants to benefit from the nutrients released from the mulch.
Your mulch expert can help you find a bark mulch that looks great at your site and helps your plants thrive. Best of all, they can install bulk mulch quickly and easily with their blowing equipment.
What’s the top mulch for Michigan?
In the Extension studies, ground red pine bark was the best performer overall. Ground red pine bark is readily available in Michigan as a by-product of wood processing businesses. This means it is abundant and affordable for even the largest landscaping project. Ground red pine bark has excellent weed retardation properties. As researchers pointed out, how often do you see heavy weeds growing under pine trees?
No matter what mulch you’re thinking of, we can help. Fill out the form on our web site to get connected with a mulch installation professional in Michigan. They can recommend the best mulch for your site, give you a complete quote, and install your bulk mulch quickly. You’ll soon have the best looking landscape on the block.