Mulch or plant flowers first?

[Puddles]

I've pulled up all of my plants and now need to start over. Should I put the mulch down first or plant the flowers and then spread the mulch?

I think it would be easier to spread the much first instead of trying to work around the new plants. I have 3 areas I need to do this in.

[Scrumhalf]

I would recommend doing both. Till the mulch into the soil before planting -this will keep the soild fluffy and improve the quality. Add mulch on the surface around the plants to keep weeds down, reduce evaporation and keeping the roots cool.

[Bouncer]

Go with a desert landscape. Rocks and palms.

[Puddles]

Originally posted by THE BOUNCER
Go with a desert landscape. Rocks and palms.

Yuck. My old house was like that and I removed all of the rock but left the palms. This house I decided absolutely no palms or tropical shit. I got pricked by my sago palm and my finger blew up 3 x the normal size...I'm allergic to them and won't risk any other palm incidents. My finger still has a little lump where I got pricked.

My lawn guy suggested lava rock to keep the weeds out but since I don't like that he said that pine bark would be the next best thing so I got 20 bags and hope thats enough. I got a few plants and will get them in first, then spread the bark and see how far it goes. I still need more plants so I'll hit the nursery sometime this weekend. My crape myrtles are blooming now and I want to get this done before the flowers are all gone.

[Puddles]

Originally posted by Scrumhalf
I would recommend doing both. Till the mulch into the soil before planting -this will keep the soild fluffy and improve the quality. Add mulch on the surface around the plants to keep weeds down, reduce evaporation and keeping the roots cool.

There is a lot of mulch already mixed into the soil and this area is in the front of the house which only gets morning sun and one area gets some afternoon sun so the soil stays pretty moist. The area in the back is bad though...it gets sun pretty much all day. I have no idea what to plant there. I also have a problem with deer eating stuff so I'll just buy a few different plants and find out what the deer will leave alone. I need sturdy plants in the front because our outside cat sleeps in there and he crushes smaller plants...he weighs about 16 lbs.

[shortz]

You should really plant them first, then mulch. Otherwise you will be digging through mulch and dirt to plant them. Not to mention, having a bnech of dirt on top of your mulch looks sloppy. Get some stuff to put down first to stop weeds though. I made the mistake of not puting anything down and my neighbor did. I weed twice a week and he weeds once a month.

1. Plant
2. Spread wee eater stuff
3. mulch

[Puddles]

I already killed all of the weeds...sprayed them twice before they were pulled up. I can't lay any blanket kind of thing down because this area gets a lot of rain water (this is our rainy season) and the mulch would just wash away into the lawn.

I set my alarm so I could get out there early this morning but it's raining. Grrrrrrrrr.

[Bouncer]

sand and cactus? :D

[pudgy]

how about some blue rug juniper or something low and creeping like that

[hughjorgen]

I would go with tropicals, like heliconias, they flower well, and the flowers look similar to bird of paradise..



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[Puddles]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hughjorgen
[B]I would go with tropicals, like heliconias, they flower well, and the flowers look similar to bird of paradise..

Thanks...I'll take a look for them. Or you could surprise me and plant them for me. ;)

I did get one tropical looking kind of flower...forget what it's called though.

I'm not doing any ground cover this time...the weeds still grow through the stuff...just had some pulled up. I'm going to keep the plants to a minimum so weeding should be more managable.

I planted 3 flowering shrubs today and quit when my foot sank into a mud hole which sucked my shoe off. I'll try again tomorrow if it ever stops raining!

[hitmansb]

If you want a finer mulch material, get cocoa husks and shells if they are available for a decent price in your area. They make the whole yard smell like chocolate!!!, they help the soil hold moisture, and a lot of bugs don't like the smell so they steer clear.

[shortz]

Originally posted by Puddles
I already killed all of the weeds...sprayed them twice before they were pulled up. I can't lay any blanket kind of thing down because this area gets a lot of rain water (this is our rainy season) and the mulch would just wash away into the lawn.

I set my alarm so I could get out there early this morning but it's raining. Grrrrrrrrr.

The stuff I am talking about isn't a blanket. It's a granular substance that goes down before you lay your mulch. I think it's called Preen or something. Weed killer only lasts about a week or two. One rain and it's gone.

[Puddles]

Originally posted by shortz
The stuff I am talking about isn't a blanket. It's a granular substance that goes down before you lay your mulch. I think it's called Preen or something. Weed killer only lasts about a week or two. One rain and it's gone.

Thanks...that sounds like a great idea.

It's been raining since before dawn today so I guess planting stuff is out of the question. So is going to the beach. :(

[Puddles]

Originally posted by hitmansb
If you want a finer mulch material, get cocoa husks and shells if they are available for a decent price in your area. They make the whole yard smell like chocolate!!!, they help the soil hold moisture, and a lot of bugs don't like the smell so they steer clear.

Just what a woman needs...for her whole yard to smell like chocolate! I'd be trying to eat the dirt when I'm pms'ing. LOL