Flower Gardens

» Cottage_Garden - Preventing weeds

I just want to clarify that the above is for this year to try to get the weeds under control. In subsequent years, do not rake in the spring. Just sprinkle your pre-emergent on the surface.

After the bulb foliage has died down, fluff your mulch and add to it to make the layer between two and three inches thick. Do that periodically through the season as it tends to settle and also breaks down slowly over time.

A layer two to three inches thick should be fine for the winter. If you have autumn leaves that land there, that is fine. A possible exception might be a dense layer of leaves that turn into a solid mat such as maple leaves, these can be raked off in the fall. Leaves that stay stiff such as oak leaves will not harm them.

The following spring, the mulch will have settled a bit due to winter snow and rain and the bulbs should be able to come up through it just fine. Sprinkle your preemergent, wait to add more mulch until after the bulbs are gone.

With a bed such as this, it is best to use a medium to fine textured mulch such as shredded bark or pine fines. The very large nuggets are better for use around shrubs. The larger particles take longer to decay but would be heavier for the bulbs to wiggle up through.

I hope this works for you!

-- posted by Cottage_Garden