Pros and Cons of Using Mulch in Our Planter Beds.

Hey Guys! I wanted to shed some light on whether or not we should use mulch in our landscape. There's a lot of opinions floating around about this stuff so I wanted to break it down in a simple discussion. There are some INCREDIBLE aspects of traditional mulch, however, there are a few reasons why you may want to consider using alternative types of top dressing, like decomposed granite or decorative pebbles. We take a look at the benefits of mulch and discuss how it's used, and also chat about why some people are not in to it.
As a short description, mulch is used as the 'icing on the cake; if you will. It's often used in landscape to cover up bare dirt. There are several reasons for this. The first reason is that it helps to keep weeds out. Thats right! And it does a pretty good job. But it's not a fail safe. Weeds will ALWAYS appear in the landscape, but natural mulch and other top dressings are a great way to help keep weeds from rooting in to your soil.
Also, mulch helps to lock in moisture for your plants. Thus allowing you to water less! Obviously great for the environments, but for the wallet as well.
Mulch also provides nutrients for your plants! As mulch begins to decompose, it breaks down and builds the topsoil which helps plants thrive! So it's a wonderful thing for overall plant health.
And of course, mulch looks awesome! It just adds that finishing touch to the landscape.
OK guys, please feel free to ask any questions...hope you enjoy the vid!
-Dom
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[@mariahmcqueen7633]

Love your tutorials! Keep them coming!!

[@BudgetPlants]

Thanks Mariah!! I really appreciate that...I will! Another is coming soon :) - Dom

[@jfigleaf228]

Great content (watched it 2x to take mental notes). Hope to see more videos from the channel in the future.

[@BudgetPlants]

Many thanks! And happy to help with any questions you might have 😀 - Dom

[@jmendez7646]

Thanks Dominic. great advice👏🏼👏🏼. I am a new subscriber

[@BudgetPlants]

THANKS!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@lizrivera6340]

Very informative!! Thanks

[@BudgetPlants]

Thanks for watching!

[@charitymachain6570]

Yes

[@faautobahna9416]

very good information.

[@BudgetPlants]

Thanks!

[@mattnoahseth]

Such great vids!! For this particular one though one dislike my husband has is the fact he’s got to keep adding more every year or so to make it look fresh. Any tips or advice for this??

[@BudgetPlants]

Yea that’s very true..you do have to keep adding to it every so often. As the lower layers decay and breakdown, it adds nutrition and builds topsoil. So it’s reeeeeaaaallly beneficial for the landscape.

[@ronjojola597]

I have heard and read mulch attracts termites. Can you tell us about that? Great videos.

[@BudgetPlants]

Thanks for watchin! I have not seen mulch attract termites personally, but if that’s a problem in your area/property, I recommend either a redwood or cedar mulch.

[@jdar-design-motion]

The place we moved to has mulch with Weed Stopper fabric. Would you recommend using that, or removing the Weed stopper? Thanks!

[@BudgetPlants]

I almost never recommend having weed barrier under mulch. Mulch acts as a natural weed abatement, and with the weed barrier under it, it defeats the purpose of adding nutrients back into the soil from the decomposing mulch.

[@jdar-design-motion]

@@BudgetPlants Thanks so much. Yes, that makes sense.

[@veganchiefwarrior6444]

you know how in a forest theres like a 4 inch layer of black decayed organic matter under the mulch and on top of the soil? what if you made your own layer of this and then another 4 inches of woodchips, thats 8 inches of organic matter on top of the soil.. is that too much? the rain wont get through right? do forests ever build up an organic matter layer so thick that plants or certain plants cant germinate or grow there because they cant find the soil or just rot out?

[@BudgetPlants]

Hi! Just from experience I’d say that would be a little too much of a mulch layer. Unless it was kept far enough away from the base of each plant. I believe it would potentially cause root rot. There are certain plants that may benefit from a thicker mulch layer such as various ferns and water living plants. But generally, more than 4” if mulch may be overkill.

[@cliffdariff74]

I bought an older house two years ago, the back has that very large black mulch chunks. it's terrible, walking on it sucks, it doesn't hold back weeds or wild grasses, even with landscape fabric under. I'm thinking to get rid of it and replacing with walkable gravel.

[@BudgetPlants]

Yes some mulch is horrible. There are definitely all levels of mulch...some good some bad. I like the finely shredded mulch which looks more natural and softer. Gravel is a good choice for walking on, but I’d suggest to use a more jagged edge mulch as opposed to a rounded gravel. The rounded gravel makes for a very unstable walking surface.

[@veganchiefwarrior6444]

the thing is tho is pulling weeds from woodchips is often pretty easy, pulling weeds from gravel might be unbearable

[@mexzcanninja7412]

@@veganchiefwarrior6444 Late post, but I think its the weed fabric that's not allowing the mulch to breakdown properly. I never us fabric under mulch and not one weed has grown.

[@pshahdoshi]

Mulch attracts insects. Tons

[@ozzielomeli4690]

Would you rather use DG or Cedar mulch on a slope yard. Will rain be an issue for mulch on a slope?

[@BudgetPlants]

If the slope was dramatic enough where runoff is an issue, I’d select a ground cover that has a root system to help prevent erosion such as Myoporum, Lantana, Rosemary, or Acacia Low Boy. I would not use dg or mulch on a slope.

[@ozzielomeli4690]

@@BudgetPlants what if the slope does not have a dramatic runoff?

[@BudgetPlants]

Yes possible to use mulch. Anything over about 8% and you may get unwanted runoff and the toe of the slope.

[@alexcontreras6103]

i put a foot of mulch and have zero weeds

[@brendalyfelixhoang6078]

Would you recommend using mulch with dondonaea?

[@BudgetPlants]

I personally would. There’s only a handful of plants I don’t like using mulch with. Dodonaea should take mulch just fine :)

[@mexzcanninja7412]

One thing I dont like about mulch is the bugs! Lots of them!!!

[@blacklight3330]

Red mulch is really bad. Avoid at all cost. If it is for weed control. Mulch is not your answer. There are products for that. If you want fungus and moe and insects. Let just say not for residential home. It is good for wide area for commercial building. Plus you have to re apply every year. The red mulch get into sidewalk, grass, driveway. It looks soo bad, you just want to rip up your whole lawn and landscape and start over.