Mulch Does More Than Hide the Dirt
Mulch serves at least four important functions in the landscape.
Now that Spring is coming and the last leaves have fallen–or have almost fallen–it is time to be sure the mulch in your beds is sufficient and replenished. Mulch is basically a layer of material which covers the soil in your beds. It can be organic or inorganic. Typically I recommend organic because it provides a fuller range of benefits and fewer hassles.
Mulch provides a number of benefits in your landscape: 1) Dress up and beautify your bedded and naturalized areas. 2) Conserve soil moisture and protect roots from drying out. 3) Stabilize soil temperatures, preventing shock to plants from unexpected frosts and hot days. 4) Replenish valuable organic matter to the soil as the mulch breaks down, organic matter provides the crucial carbon necessary for development of new plant cells, and creates rich soil for roots to easily grow in. 5) Reduce weed germination. 6) And, reduce soil erosion.
There are several different organic and inorganic mulches. We recommend organic mulches for the majority of applications. Examples of inorganic mulches are pebbles and ground up tires. The most common organic mulch is pine straw. Pine straw is very effective and economical. Other organic mulches include pine bark, various wood chips, and colorized wood chips.
Wood chips and bark will decompose slower than pine straw, although they will become sun bleached. Colorized wood chips’ primary advantage is they resist sun bleaching much longer, although they look less than natural :: Proudland Landscape, LLC, copyright © 2005-2007
24 Feb 2007, 00:07:00 EST
Pruning Crape Myrtles
Crape myrtle trees are popular landscape plants and specimens here in the Atlanta area. They are ubiqitous, common, and redundant, though beautiful and almost irresistible in the landscape. They are especially useful in the commercial landscape where careful control of plant size and shape is necessary, not only for aesthetic, but also liability reasons. It is not uncommon to see them being pruned as early as December. Our customers see this, and I am frequently asked when the crape myrtles will be pruned.
Pruning crape myrtles does nothing for their blooming. There is a beautiful, gigantic crape near the Fuqua building in the Atlanta Botanical Garden which is absolutely beautiful, and has had minimal pruning. Pruning crapes is done to control size and shape. Crape myrtles bloom on new wood, and handle pruning well.
As far as time frame is concerned, February is the time--post Valentines day. Maintenance companies, and commercial operations need to buffer around this time frame, due to the volume of work required, and the relatively short time between mid-February and Spring here in the Atlanta area. However, December is very early, and January is early. :: Proudland Landscape, LLC, copyright ©2005-2007
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COMPOST: FROM GOLDEN LEAVES TO GARDENER'S GOLD
Compost is often referred to as "Gardener's Gold" because of its ability to help plants grow. If you've ever been in a forest and peeled away the top layers of leaf litter on the grounds, you will have seen a rich layer of this black, earthy, sweet smelling, moist material called compost, Compost, when mixed in with soil, improves soil structure, adds a wide variety of minerals and nutrients, and improves the soil's ability to retain moisture.
Composting is the earth's way of naturally recycling old plant material and you too can use this process in your
own back yard to manage your yard waste. So, this fall, why not try composting all those fallen leaves and by
next spring you too could be mining "Gardener's Gold" in you very own backyard. For information on how
to compost in Gwinnett Contact "Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful" at 770.822.5187 or visit their website at
www.gwinnettcb.org.
(Source: Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful insert, Sep '02)
HOW CAN LEAVES HURT STREAMS?
Autumn is approaching and that means leaves will be falling. Leaves can be washed into local streams where bacteria can cause the leaves to decay and release phosphorous. This bacterial action and release of phosphorus can lead to a decrease in the water oxygen levels necessary to support the survival of fish & aquatic life.
Don't blow or sweep leaves into the street, storm drains or drainage ditches. Instead, consider composting
the old leaves. You'll save our streams and your garden will benefit from all the rich compost you are able
to produce. For more info call 678.376.6929 or
www.cleanwatercampaign.com
(Source: Clean Water Campaign insert, Sep '02)
Our philosophy & mission, and our maintenance program are crafted specifically with environmentally sound practices.
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