UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service

Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578

Phone: (863) 763-6469

E- mail: edayen@ufl.edu 

 February 14, 2006

Feature Article - for immediate release.

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

 This is another in a series of articles written about the new area program called Florida Yards & Neighborhoods. 

Mulching is another way to reduce turf areas in your yard thus reducing use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and water so you can have a “Florida Friendly Yard”.  Mulches are also great for those shady areas where grasses will not grow.  In addition, mulch gives planting beds a neat appearance and they require very little maintenance.

There are two types of mulches, the organic, such as bark, wood chips, leaves, pine needles and grass clippings and the inorganic, such as gravel, films and ground cloths.

Another inorganic form is “Promulch” which is made from recycled rubber tires.

The wood chip mulches are the most popular and the cypress type is most widely used. 

Thousands of acres of cypress are logged every year simply to produce mulch, which is rapidly reducing our natural cypress forests.  Suggested alternatives are eucalyptus and Melaleuca mulches.  The eucalyptus are renewable plantation grown trees and Melaleuca is an invasive tree that needs to be eradicated.  Mulches from both of these trees are naturally insect repellent.  The red dyed wood chips are another popular mulch; they are made from assorted waste woods. 

Generally a two to three inch layer is adequate around trees, shrubs and bedding plants.  Mulch out to the trees drip line but leave space around the trunk to prevent root rot.  Do not mulch around citrus trees at all as they are very susceptible to root rots. 

This tree has way too much mulch - the tip of the pen is touching the soil line, and the mulch is improperly touching the tree's bark.  Also note the roots growing through the mulch on top of Dan's hand! Photo by Dan Culbert

Hernando Horticulture Agent Jim Moll is pulling the pine bark nugget mulch back from this Magnolia tree on the UF Campus.  .Photo by Dan Culbert

Shell, crushed stone or pebbles can be used as mulch, but will not contribute to the organic content of your soil as organic mulches do.  Rock mulches tend to reflect heat, increasing the water needs of plants. 

The Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program is being implemented through your local County Extension Service in Highlands, Okeechobee and Glades County and is partially funded from Clean Water Act Section 319 funding from the U. S. EPA through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Ed Ayen is available to address interested groups such as homeowners associations, voluntary organizations and clubs.  For further information he can be reached by calling the Highlands County Extension Service office.  Phone: (863)402-6540 or email: edayen@ufl.edu . His office location is 4509 George Blvd., Sebring, FL 33875-5837.  More information is available on our Okeechobee web page,  http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on mulches, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 5 PM on Tuesday afternoons. 

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Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean Last update: 08/21/2006 .  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert