Question of the Week: December 19, 2019

“How important is mulching for my plants in the winter?”

As I mentioned, mulching is always a good plan. Mulches do so much to improve life for our plants. But specifically in winter, how important are mulches here in the Lone Star State?

Reasons we apply mulches…
Here are just some of the reasons we apply mulches to our landscapes and gardens.

• Slow growth of weeds. Yes, weeds do grow in the winter. Cool-season weeds can be unsightly. Chief among them in beds: annual bluegrass, clover, chickweed. Mulches stop germination of these weeds’ seeds, slow growth of the plants, but only if they’re applied a couple of inches deep.

• Moderate rate of change of soil temperatures (the freeze/thaw cycles). Aha. This is a big one in winter. If you have plants that are vulnerable to cold injury in your area, especially types that die to the ground and then must return from their roots, mulching can help ensure that the roots will survive to come back for another year. Here you’ll want to apply 2 to 3 inches of a fairly loose mulch such as bark or shredded tree leaves. But you probably won’t have to cover your plants completely (as, for example, gardeners have to cover strawberries up in the North).

• Slow the drying process by limiting soil-to-air contact. Even in winter our Texas soils dry out. And watering can be challenging when it’s cold. Mulches can lighten that need.

• Lessen erosion by slowing flow of runoff. In this case you’ll need a fairly heavyweight mulch. A small size of river rock can be decorative and functional. I use bark mulch in our landscape, and I have to confess that I have to replace it following heavy rains. I can rake and retrieve some of it, but some always gets hung up in the groundcovers. In my areas of heavier wash, I go with the river rock.

• Reduce splashing of rainfall and irrigation, thereby lessening staining of the side of the house and splattering of water-borne funguses. This is really critical if you have a light-colored house and red, iron-rich soil. It’s also critical if you’re growing plants like pansies or snapdragons that are susceptible to soil-borne water-mold funguses that splash up onto leaves and stems when it rains. Mulches help.

• Improve looks of the landscape. Forget all the rest. This is why many of us put mulches out in our gardens. They just look good. After all, that’s a big part of why we landscape in the first place.