Pine Straw Mulch - Pine Needle for Winterizing Your Garden
Posted by | Posted on 12:36 AM
It is considered the fact Pine Straw mulch is a sustainable, renewable resource, it's so great and lightweight to work with pine needle and looks very attractive. Young seedlings can grow through pine needle, water can filter down through it, the ground can breathe and even so pine straw still holds in moisture. It lasts quite longer than other similar materials and pine needle won't drift away with the first big rain.
In fall mulching with pine straw has an crucial function since temperatures in the late fall to winter months can change radically. The ground heaves as it freezes and thaws, forcing the root systems of many fragile plants up from the soil and exposing them to the elements. Nearly all plants are much healthier when they have a layer of pine needle mulch spread over their roots.
When mulching with pine straw you should wait until the ground is frozen or all but frozen before you add the pine needle. Any sooner covering will encourage mold and mildew to form on the surface. Generally, a 2- to 3-inch bed of pine needle mulch placed over the root zone of a plant will provide a detectable difference in the plant's health. Established plants will show less stress and better growth. Just be sure to pull pine straw mulch an inch or two aside from the stems of shrubs or from the trunks of trees. If pine needle mulch is heaped-up up against trunks or stems, it can contain too much moisture and boost decay along the bark.
Many people make the misunderstanding of using less reliable fall mulch such as hay in their garden. Hay is not a good option to pine straw since hay often carries seeds that will eventually sprout and cause weed problems in your garden bed in the spring. Pine straw comes from several different species of pine trees that drop their pine needles or ?straw? naturally throughout the year. Once the pine needle drops to the ground, it is cleansed and baled, without ever cutting down a single pine tree. Since it is produced naturally, pine straw sometimes is referred to as the "guilt-free" mulch. Each species' of pine straw will have its own unique characteristics, such as pine needle length, wax content and pine needle flexibility. The Loblolly species of pine straw, for instance, has a pine needle length ranging from about six to nine inches, making it simple to employ and shape. Also, the needle sizing is optimal for allowing the soil to breathe well while allowing first-class water infiltration.
Ideally, garden mulch for the wintertime is added in the fall to protect against sudden and extreme temperature dips before plants have had a chance to fully harden. A few inches of pine straw mulch can provide a cushion of as much as 10 degrees above ambient air temperatures which is just enough to keep roots growing. And certainly, a top layering of pine needle mulch offers cosmetic appeal, making the garden to look cared for at a time when the garden can look a little underwhelming.
In fall mulching with pine straw has an crucial function since temperatures in the late fall to winter months can change radically. The ground heaves as it freezes and thaws, forcing the root systems of many fragile plants up from the soil and exposing them to the elements. Nearly all plants are much healthier when they have a layer of pine needle mulch spread over their roots.
When mulching with pine straw you should wait until the ground is frozen or all but frozen before you add the pine needle. Any sooner covering will encourage mold and mildew to form on the surface. Generally, a 2- to 3-inch bed of pine needle mulch placed over the root zone of a plant will provide a detectable difference in the plant's health. Established plants will show less stress and better growth. Just be sure to pull pine straw mulch an inch or two aside from the stems of shrubs or from the trunks of trees. If pine needle mulch is heaped-up up against trunks or stems, it can contain too much moisture and boost decay along the bark.
Many people make the misunderstanding of using less reliable fall mulch such as hay in their garden. Hay is not a good option to pine straw since hay often carries seeds that will eventually sprout and cause weed problems in your garden bed in the spring. Pine straw comes from several different species of pine trees that drop their pine needles or ?straw? naturally throughout the year. Once the pine needle drops to the ground, it is cleansed and baled, without ever cutting down a single pine tree. Since it is produced naturally, pine straw sometimes is referred to as the "guilt-free" mulch. Each species' of pine straw will have its own unique characteristics, such as pine needle length, wax content and pine needle flexibility. The Loblolly species of pine straw, for instance, has a pine needle length ranging from about six to nine inches, making it simple to employ and shape. Also, the needle sizing is optimal for allowing the soil to breathe well while allowing first-class water infiltration.
Ideally, garden mulch for the wintertime is added in the fall to protect against sudden and extreme temperature dips before plants have had a chance to fully harden. A few inches of pine straw mulch can provide a cushion of as much as 10 degrees above ambient air temperatures which is just enough to keep roots growing. And certainly, a top layering of pine needle mulch offers cosmetic appeal, making the garden to look cared for at a time when the garden can look a little underwhelming.
About the Author:
Custom Pine Straw of Branford, Florida has been a wholesale vendor of quality pine straw products since 1997. Information Available At: Custom Pine Straw
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