A Mulch for All Seasons

It is finally starting to feel like it really is Spring. So enjoy it because, in Wichita, Spring only ever seems to last a moment! But with the season of blooming here and the hot summer just a blink away, it’s also a great time to think about that most trusted and versatile of landscaping tools - mulch. Those of you with long memories may recall that we were discussing the importance of mulching in Winter not long ago. So what gives with bringing it up again now? Well, the fact of the matter is, it’s always a good time for mulch! So today, we’ll share the primary benefits of mulch for each season, beginning with the one we’re currently in.

Springtime for Mulching

Spring may be mulch’s most appreciated season. Of course, everyone loves planting up their new flower beds and has begun to mow their lawns and address any of its (shall we say?) beauty marks. With all that landscape design and sprucing up, it’s natural that they will also be mulching!

Beauty & the Barrier

With flower beds at the forefront of Spring-y minds, homeowners’ goals for Spring mulching falls primarily into the beautifying category. Mulch in a contrasting color helps to make our flowers stand out, creating a lovely contrast. But, even if they’re unaware of it, Spring mulch serves another vital purpose that keeps your gardens healthy and, consequentially, beautiful! That extra function that mulch provides in the Spring is blocking weeds. Mulch blocks the dirt's surface, giving weeds less opportunity to find a home. And it also makes it easier to spot weeds that sneak in.

Summer Mulchin’: Heat at Full Blast

As we mentioned in the introduction, with Spring here now, you can already feel the hot breath of Summer on the back of your neck. Unfortunately, that heat can cause some issues for your plants. Luckily, their trusty sidekick, mulch, is up to the task of defending it!

The Way of Water

The summer sun can dry out your plants easily, especially if you go through a period with very little rain. But mulch doesn’t just beautify and keep out weeds. It also keeps moisture in! As the mulch soaks up water, it allows it to slowly percolate down to the roots of the plants instead of being lost to evaporation. Additionally, mulch is an insulator. In the summer, that means that the hot sun is likely to burn your plants (especially their roots) with the mulch blocking its way.

Mulch, Glorious Fall Mulch

As the stage between hot Summer and cold Winter, in terms of mulching, Fall is the Jan Brady of seasons that just doesn’t feel that mulch is paying much attention; as such, it’s hard to find a fall-specific task related to mulch that is common only to fall. So instead, here are a couple of ways mulch helps in the fall that aren’t entirely exclusive to that season.

It Makes It Tough to Be a Bug

Many mulches work well as a repellent for insects and other pests. The rough textures of most mulch are unattractive to soft-bodied animals like slugs, so they won’t cross it to eat your leaves. For example, other mulch, like cedar mulch, has a scent that repels rodents and insects.

Circle of Life

Your Spring and Summer mulch has probably begun to deteriorate at this point, but that’s not a bad thing! As mulch breaks down, it becomes fertilizer and feeds the plants in your gardens!

It Coudn’t Be in Winter

Now we get to the last season of the year. You may recall some of what we’ll share about Winter from our previous mulch blog. In Winter, we have the inverse of summer.

The Cold Never Bothered Mulch Anyway

While mulch is necessary for insulation in the heat, it’s equally vital to keep your plant’s roots from freezing in the Winter. This will help your perennials make it to the Spring again.

You Can Paint with All the Colors of the Mulch

Finally, many plants are no longer blooming or colorful when it gets very cold. While there are some evergreen shrubs, trees, and even a few flowers that do ok in the cold, for many, mulch is the only element of color that’s still present in the landscape! So mulch can be a way of livening up your yard, then. Now that you understand how we use mulch throughout the year, we hope you’ll call us for your Spring mulching needs and remember us if your mulch wears thin the rest of the year.