Tag Archives: plants

Too Much Mulch?

Springtime Tips on Using Mulch

The recent mild weather makes lawn and garden enthusiasts eager to get their hands in the dirt. One of the first projects for many is mulching. Before you spend your money on bags and bags of mulch, you might want to consider these recommended best practices.

Types of Mulch to Avoid

Besides improving the curb appeal of your home, mulch also acts as a weed deterrent. However, some mulch actually brings the weeds with it! Freshly shredded mulch, which our township will delivery to homeowners, is made of the twigs, brush, and woody plants that they pick up seasonally. They take these castoffs and grind them into a woody mulch. The color varies, depending on the kinds of wood they get. But . . .

Think twice before using this kind of mulch around your house or plants.

Because this mulch is fresh, it can be loaded with insects, strong herbicides, and plant diseases. None of those are good to have next to your house. Some people also use straw mulch, mainly in gardens. This has the same issues. If using either of these, let the mulch “age” for a few months before adding it to your landscaping. Heat and light and rain work to leach out the harmful stuff.

Artificially dyed mulch is a common addition to landscaping. But beware! Look at the bag before buying to see if the dye is natural or has sprayed-on color. Natural dye is fine, but spray colorants can be toxic, especially to pets and children.

The same is true of rubber mulch. Besides being expensive and often stinky, as this material breaks down over time, it releases toxic heavy metals and chemicals into the soil and groundwater.

Avoid Mulch Mania . . . Save Your Money

Tip #1: Don’t mulch too early in the season

It’s hard to resist getting your landscaping started when the weather is so nice. However, horticulturists recommend waiting until mid-May or later to add mulch. If you lay the mulch too soon, during the heavy rains of March and April, there is a chance that fungus will take hold in and beneath the mulch. Mulch mushrooms and white spots can ruin the look you want to achieve.

Tip #2: Take out large weeds before mulching

One of the benefits of using mulch is that it inhibits the growth of weeds. While this is true of small weeds, don’t be surprised if larger more robust weeks pop right through the mulch. Some of these weeds include: crabgrass, dandelions, and thistles. Your options are to remove the weeds before mulching (with or without chemicals) or pull the weeds over the season after they emerge from the mulch.

Tip #3: Don’t use more mulch than you need

Here is where you can save some real money. You do not need more than one inch of mulch in order for it to work well. Thick blankets of mulch do more harm than good. They hold onto the moisture rather than letting it filter through to the roots of shrubs, flowers, trees, or gardens. Fungus will set up in the middle of the damp mulch, creating a barrier that smothers nearby roots. By using just a one-inch thickness, you allow water and sunlight to work hand-in-hand for the benefit of your plants.

If you hire landscapers to do the mulching for you, make sure they know about this. You are paying for the amount of mulch they use, usually at a rate much higher than their cost. Insist that they do not use too much and you’ll save some money.

Most importantly of all, make sure they do not make the following mistake . . .

Tip #4: Don’t place mulch too close to the foundation of your house or above the sill plate

The sill plate is made of pressure-treated wood pieces (often 2x6s) that go around your house perimeter on top of the concrete slab. They are the foundation of the wood frame of the building. In brick homes, like ours, the sill plate is right behind the bottom row of bricks.

The most important tip of all is this: Keep mulch away from the sill plate. For our purposes, that means the mulch should be kept a few inches below the bottom row of bricks. If mulch is mounded above the sill plate, you run the risk of costly damage caused by insect infestations, especially termites. Landscapers often don’t abide by this rule because they think it looks better to have thick, high mulch around the house. You’re paying for too much mulch if they do this.

If you already have mulch that’s too close to the foundation, rake it away to create the safety zone described above.

Tip #5: Apply the same tips when mulching around trees

Mulch should never be mounded up against the trunk of a tree. Give the base of the trunk space for air and water to get to the roots. Otherwise, the tree is likely to rot from its base. Also, mulch against the trunk and you give insects the opportunity to invade the tree, causing disease and structural damage to the tree, weakening it. The same is true from shrubs and other plants.

Follow these tips and you will save money, have fewer problems with insects, and still have attractive landscaping.

Why Can’t I Have Vining Plants?

First of all, you can have vining plants, just not ones that attach themselves to the brick-and-mortar of the exterior of your condo. Many owners here enjoy having clematis vines that grow on trellises or strings. Others have planted varieties of ivy as ground cover in their landscapes. They offer good weed prevention, moisture control, and visual interest among the colorful annuals seen here at Northland.

Clematis https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clematis_Jackmannii1MGifford.jpg

The Problems of Vines on Brick Walls

Self-clinging vines have different ways of attaching to a structure, be it a trellis or a brick wall. Some, like the clematis, form curling tendrils that wrap around the structure as it climbs. Others grow aerial roots (i.e., roots that grow from a stalk into the air rather than in soil) that adhere to a surface with a kind of glue that can dissolve the mortar.

Using vining type plants in the landscape can create some interesting landscape effects, but they can also be a maintenance nightmare. . . .

A problem with vines on walls is that either type of vines will hold moisture against the wall. Block and brick walls will start to dissolve and fall apart in high moisture. The self-climbing vines are even worse, the glue that holds the plant to the wall really starts to dissolve the wall in order to glue itself to the wall. If you let the vines grow on the stucco wall of your house, they can pull the stucco right off your house.

https://www.avpress.com/valley_life/growing-vines-on-walls-is-a-challenge-you-have-options/article_f98f2a54-fa20-11ea-acaf-03f76b9eb391.html
Japanese Spindletree
File: Euonymus japonicus in Barysau district 10.jpg

What Do Our Condo Rules State?

Our rules (Resident Information Sheet) are available to download here on the website. The rules have been in place for many years. The goal of these rules is to provide every resident and/or owner a safe home that retains or grows in value while keeping all of the properties looking their best. The rule about vining plants is:

TREES & SHRUBS: Trees and shrubs have to be kept trimmed year-round. Shrubs cannot be above the window sills and must be at least 18” below the soffits. Trees must be trimmed so that they do not hang over the roof or interfere with the passage of vehicles on the streets. Vining plants are prohibited from growing on the brick as this damages the mortar between the bricks.

https://northlandcondoassociation.com/about-northland-condominiums/northland-house-rules/

What Should I Do If I Have Vining Plants on My Exterior Bricks?

There are a few options for you to consider, understanding that all vines must be removed from walls:

  • remove the plants
  • put up a trellis that allows the vines to grow but not to adhere to the brick/mortar
  • train vining plants to be ground cover or bonsai-like mini-shrubs (Japanese spindletree)

If you have received a maintenance notice about climbing vines, we ask that you follow the rules. The exterior bricks and mortar are the responsibility of the Association (NCOA), and as such, the Board must apply all rules in all cases. Failure to be in compliance with the rules may result in the owner receiving an assessment when the Board has to take action to hire the work to be done.

Keep It Growing

Above all, enjoy your landscaping and gardening here at Northland. Create the look and feel you want your property to have.

Our rules are few. Other places are much more restrictive. We ask that everyone keeps our community looking great and structurally sound. Kudos to all of the “green thumbs” out there!