Wood chips
Mulching with wood chips
When to mulch with wood chips
Mulch all new plantings at planting time. Existing trees may be mulched any time chips are available.
How to mulch with wood chips
Wood chip mulch is easily applied with regular garden tools. Simply put down 3-4 inches of chips, level off and tamp lightly, pulling chips away from trunk slightly. There is no need to use plastic sheets with rocks. Rocks hold heat and can be detrimental to plant health.
Planting a new tree or shrub
For best results, strip away all sod to a depth of 2-3 inches and to the diameter you plan on covering with wood chips. This diameter for the chips should be at lest 2-3 feet larger than the hole diameter you plan on digging to plant your new tree or shrub. The wider the hole and the larger the mulched diameter, the better. For additional weed control, a porous landscape fabric which allows for air and water exchange may be put down before the chip mulch.
Mulching older, existing trees
DO NOT strip away sod. Simply lay down 4 inches of chips from the trunk out a foot or two past the present drip-line. Pull away 6 inches from the bark, level out and tamp lightly. Add 2-3 inches of new chips on top of the old mulch every 2-3 years, or just enough to maintain the 3-4 inch total depth.
Note that the mulch is out past the dripline of your new tree. This will cover the entire critical root area, and that's important. Also, the diameter of mulch needs to grow as your tree grows. Enlarge the mulch area by adding chips every 3-4 years to match the expanding diameter of your tree's crown and drip line.
Do not strip away sod for older existing trees, as you may damage the root system.
Selecting the right mulch
Any chipped or shredded wood will be good mulch. The best type is small, medium and large-sized particles all mixed together - chips under 1 inch and up to 3-4 inches in size. Chips from diseased elm or oak are safe to use. Once chipped, this wood cannot spread Dutch elm disease or oak wilt.
Tip: A local tree service with a chipper may have chipped up limbs and tree tops available. These chips make ideal mulch at little or no cost. In the natural forest, trees take care of themselves. The soil is moist and covered with a new mulch every fall. Maybe we can help our city trees feel a little more at home.
Benefits of mulching with wood chips
- Saves Labor - no weeding, less time watering
- Saves Water - far less watering needed, and more rain absorption
- Safer - no need for chemical weed killers or herbicides
- Stimulates growth - mulched trees grow faster than unmulched trees
- Makes trees more resistant to disease and insects
- Keeps soil and roots from overheating in hot summers
- Eliminates injury to trunk from mower collisions
- Reduces soil compaction over roots and adds loft
- Nourishes the soil by adding nutrients as it decomposes
- Eliminates the need for tilling and resultant root injury
- Reduces bruising of fallen fruit under fruit trees
- Increase earthworm population resulting in better aeration
