Despite what Maryland weather may be telling us, spring is right around the corner! As spring arrives the flowers and trees will start to bloom, migratory birds will pass through the region, and across communities around the county you will begin to smell the familiar aroma of a freshly mulched planting bed.

Spring is a great time to mulch your planting projects, helping the plants conserve soil moisture and suppress competing weeds. As the soil begins to warm up from the winter, reapplying mulch will help prepare your plants for the summer months.

Here are some things to keep in mind when mulching this spring:

Know how much mulch you need to apply. If you know how big your planting area is, then you can use this handy mulch calculator.
We recommend having 2 to 4 inches of mulch in the planting bed, anything less typically does not help the plants conserve moisture during the growing season.
Make sure to weed the area before applying any mulch and check back every few weeks during the growing season to remove any newly sprouted weeds.
When mulching trees, think donuts not volcanoes! Make sure not to create mulch volcanoes where the mulch is in direct contact with the trunk of the tree. This keeps the trunk too wet and makes the tree susceptible to disease and insects. To make a mulch “donut”, create a ring of mulch around the tree that extends to its drip line.

Photo credit: Tree Philly @TreePhilly on Twitter

The same mulching concept can be applied to smaller plants as well. Be sure not to put mulch too close to the stems of perennials, shrubs and newly planted annuals. Give them at least a one inch buffer between the stems and the mulch.
There are lots of different types of mulch you can buy. We recommend using only natural, undyed mulch for the best results. One great product that we typically use in our projects is shredded hardwood mulch which can be found at almost any local supplier near you.

We hope you get a chance to do some mulching this spring, your plants will thank you for it during the heat of the summer months!

If you have any questions related to mulching, please contact:

Mulch Matters - Master Gardener Program - University of Maryland Extension mulchannearundel@gmail.com - 410-222-3900

Or reach out to WSA’s Restoration Technician Rob Pavlik