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Late fall is a great time to mulch the garden. After the trees and shrubs start to go dormant, a cozy layer of mulch will moderate soil temperature throughout winter and keep plants from drying out. Mulch can have its downsides, though, even harming or killing some plants when you overdo it. Avoid these common mulching mistakes that could harm your plants to ensure they survive and thrive in winter.
Mulch may hide ugly problems from your view, but it won't solve them. Weeds and diseases are capable of surviving and even thriving after you throw down a thick bed of mulch. If your garden bed is weedy, pull the weeds before mulching. If a fungal infection plagued your shrubs, rake up diseased leaves and dispose of them before adding a layer of mulch.
Landscaping services like to build mulch volcanoes around tree trunks, piling them higher and higher each year. This does more harm than good. Bringing mulch in contact with a trunk can cause rot and pest infestations. Mulch volcanoes also encourage trees to produce secondary roots aboveground, which may encircle and choke off the other roots.
More is not always better: Using too much mulch can harm plants. Eventually, the mulch layer grows so thick and matted that it's difficult for water and air to reach the soil. At the other extreme, too much moisture could get trapped after several heavy rains and lead to root rot. Before top-dressing with new mulch this fall, look at how thick the existing mulch is. The total depth should be 2 to 3 inches after the mulch settles.
Most plants that come from dry environments really struggle in wet winter soil. Some can be outright killed by it. Don't use organic mulches around plants that prefer rocky soil, like lavender, rosemary, sedums, and other succulents. Salvias and native prairie plants should only have a thin layer of mulch and don't need any if plantings are dense.
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