When it comes to landscaping, one of the biggest difference makers that can set your curb appeal apart from the others around you is fresh mulch. It can make it look like spring has sprung after the messy and bleak fall and winter, or it can make your landscaping look like it still has life throughout the dead of winter. So how often and when exactly should you refresh your mulch?
Well truthfully, there’s not a bad time to put mulch down, that is, there’s no time you “can’t” put mulch down. But there are better times to put mulch down that better utilize it for your lawn and landscaping. Nobody wants to spend the money putting down mulch several times a year, and if you put it down at the wrong time it can be rendered ugly quickly if you’re not careful. This is why it’s important to know the right time to put it down.
Aside from color, the chief purpose of mulch is to make your landscaping look uniform and clean. So the last thing you’d want to do, is put mulch down right before it’s about to get messy again; mainly right before you trim your hedges. If you spread mulch before you trim all your bushes and do some pruning then all the clippings will mix in with the mulch, or you will blow or rake some of the mulch out while trying to clean up the mess.
This is why you want to be strategic, you can save yourself some extra trouble if you coordinate a mulch application with a big pruning, especially your spring cleaning. Then you don’t have to be completely thorough when cleaning up the clippings. You can just pick up the big pieces, and cover up the small clippings with your fresh mulch; then your bushes are trimmed, your bed is fresh with new color, and you can let the natural clippings break down into the soil for compost. It’s a win all the way around
These reasons are why we say, if you have a regularly kept landscape, the best time for mulch is right after a pruning in the spring and/or fall. However if your landscaping has been neglected and needs a big cleanup, then it should definitely be followed up with mulch no matter what time of year; otherwise it will never look truly transformed.
As always, you don’t have to do it on your own, mulch can be a back breaker and a messy pain. So reach out to the professionals at Cutting Edge Lawn Care today, and we can help you with mulch or any other lawn care and landscaping needs.