The Benefits of Mulch for Communities
Cities, parks, playgrounds, and sporting facilities all have beautiful landscaping that you want to uphold and maintain. For this, they all have various styles, challenges and volumes of mulch that are needed. Here are some answers to common questions about how much mulch is needed, where we recommend using mulch, and other benefits your municipality may experience from mulch.
First, communicate with your mulch provider the approximate number of square feet you need to be covered. Then, discuss with them how deep you would like the mulch needs to be. Ask for recommendations if you don’t know the normal depth of a particular job. If you don’t know the exact area, just make an approximation and tell your specialist that you don’t know but this is your best guess.
Do our city trees need mulch?
Yes, they do. Most trees, but especially those which are displayed out in the open and are unprotected by any other means, need protection for their roots and for their water collection methods. You can set up a city sprinkler to keep your plants green, but you need to regulate these according to how much rain you get. Also, if you get a lot of rain, you need some type of substance around the base of your city trees to slow down the water absorption. Otherwise, you can flood the roots.
Playgrounds normally have gravel. Are you suggesting mulch, instead?
Playground mulch is created to be incredibly safe. Gravel is also safe and prevents a lot of bruised children. However, in the end, it is still made of rock. Playground mulch is much softer. Additionally, gravel can be easily kicked and shoveled out of the play area. This creates additional labor for city workers to clean up and put back where it belongs. Mulch is soft, organic and flat in nature.
Our city is flat. Can mulch direct water away from the base of trees?
Yes, it can. Different type of bark mulch (which can also be cost-effective), can be installed with a little mound around the tree with the tree being at the highest point of the mound. This will allow water to slowly soak in and trickle down to the roots directly next to the tree while also encouraging the roots to grow and spread and use the water around the tree if they need more. Two solutions in one. Mulch also protects the lower bark around the tree from becoming rotted and wet, thus cutting off circulation to the tree. This is why many municipalities use mulch around all of their highway and park trees which are not giant and mature in size with big, strong bark.
Our city has many hills. Is mulch a good investment to prevent hillside erosion?
You should definitely plant long-rooted plants all over these hills to hold them in place more effectively. And, yes, you should apply mulch heavily to the side of the hill, in addition to the plants. If you are concerned about whether or not the mulch will stay put on such a steep hill, talk to your mulch blowing specialist. They will help you pick out the best type of mulch for a steep hillside, one that will stay put while your long-rooted plants start to grow and hold the hill firmer in place.
Will mulch support plants that don’t get very much sun?
Yes, it will. Shaded plants are great for parks and for places that receive very little sun. These shady places are also prone to collecting rainwater and holding it on top of the ground, damaging the bark of young trees and flooding the area. Mulch is a great help in capturing water and holding it in place to prevent it from standing and forming pools everywhere. Shade plants may not like direct sunlight, but they absolutely hate flooding, unless they are march or swamp plants. Yes, mulch is absolutely a great option to put around shade plants of any type.
Whether you need mulch delivery or mulch installation, remember to head on over to GetMulch.com to find the best mulch providers for your city’s municipal mulch needs. Your city has a lot of fantastic properties that need mulch and we would love to help make that much easier on you. A quality mulch expert should be used for your city and we will save you time and money with our nationwide network of mulch suppliers and mulch suppliers.