Mulching: A Matter of Life and Death

Who would think that something as simple as providing a layer of mulch around your landscape plants could save them from dangerous conditions throughout the year?



As we enjoy the hot summer days of the Midwest, we must be reminded that our plants are exposed to the sun and heat every day. Although they are accustomed to our climate, we must offer them protection when we can by maintaining a proper layer of mulch in our gardens. The benefits of mulching are more than just aesthetic. Mulch helps retain soil moisture, helps cool plant roots, decreases weeds, reduces erosion, and adds organic matter. Mulch also provides benefits to our plants during the winter by keeping the soil temperature from fluctuating during temperature variations and protecting delicate plants that might be questionably hardy in our climate zone.