AboutC.L. Fornari Expertise Annuals suggested for specific situations (sun, shade, windowboxes etc) New or unusual annuals are a particular interest of mine, and I grow many of these from seed. I am happy to help problem solve, answer questions about maintenance, and guide you to sources of unusual plants.
Experience I am a garden writer/speaker/consultant and host of a weekly gardening radio program in the Northeast. I have been gardening all my life for my own pleasure, and started as a professional gardener and garden communicator 15 years ago. I work part-time at a garden center, selling and tending shrubs/trees/annuals/perennials...and doing some propagation and design work. I often think that all these professional activities serve to put a somewhat legitimate framework around a serious case of plant-lust.
Question Hello. My wife planted some bulbs in our flower garden last weekend (she said about 1/2" to 1" of dirt over top of the bulbs). She now asked me to mulch the garden which we have never done before. I got a load of black compost mulch to spread but I wanted to make sure that the bulbs would still come up if I put the mulch on top, or if we need to wait until the bulbs have come up through to add the mulch (weeks i assume). Also, the garden center where I got the mulch suggested 3" of mulch. Do you agree or is this too much?
Thanks for your help.
Ryan
Answer Ryan,
The best thing to do would be to wait until the bulbs sprout, then apply the mulch so that it stops about an inch from the stems. This is because if mulch is piled next to the stems it can keep the stems too moist, and on some plants cause crown rot. The other approach would be to spread the mulch now, using only an inch or a bit more - and then when the plants poke through you can scrape the mulch back away from the stems. If tiny weeds are threatening to grow before the bulbs sprout, I'd go ahead and spread the mulch and scrape it away later. If the ground is bare, wait and spread after they sprout.
3" is a bit much in my opinion - 2" is ideal to help deter weeds and keep moisture in, but not keep the soil too damp. Plant's roots want air as well as water and dirt, and too deep of a layer of mulch can keep things a bit too damp sometimes.
