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How much mulch?
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Posted by stuart_2008 7 GA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 10, 08 at 17:22
I put down some additional mulch a few days ago. I probably have two or three inches of it on my azaleas. It rained yesterday - .33 inch. I checked the mulch and it was wet but the soil beneath it was dry. We got another little burst of rain this afternoon - I checked the mulch and soil and the mulch was wet but soil was dry.
I understand the value of mulch in terms of preventing evaporation but it also stops small rains from getting through to the soil much less to the roots.
How much mulch should I have?
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: How much mulch?
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| Your results are normal and OK. The beauty of mulch is that the soil never gets wet which would cause root rot, but never gets dry. The beauty of mulch is that it keeps the root zone cool in summer, protects them in winter, it keeps weed from invading the shallow root zone of rhododendrons and azaleas, as well as conserving water. A typical mulch layers is a 2-3 inch layer of an airy organic material such as shredded leaves, leaf mold, pine needles, or pine bark mulch. Many growers find that the roots tend to grow in or near the mulch. |
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