Many Central Florida homeowners are still dealing with the aftermath of hurricane Irma. Whether your mulch was blown away with all the wind or saturated with water, it may need to be replaced with fresh dry mulch.
You may want to consider using a heavier, larger pine bark mulch, this way it will less likely to get washed away in our next big storm.
Recently Catherine contacted Reliable Peat about using decorative stones instead of organic mulch in their entire flower bed. She was tired of replacing mulch after every severe storm and every spring. She was concerned about termites and insect problem and didn’t want to put the mulch up against their home. She was also worried that the stones around the plants wouldn’t allow them to thrive.
We thought this was an excellent question and thought we would share the answer.
Rock based ground covers such as river rock, marble chips, granite, and crushed concrete, add a natural texture and an artful elegance. They have many benefits, increasing in popularity, and they need minimal maintenance!
The main thing rocks have over organic mulch, they don’t decompose. Which makes them last much longer than any other type of mulch
Though rocks and stones may need the occasional going over with a leaf blower, their colors don’t fade, they don’t need to be routinely replaced, they reduce the need for weeding, and they aren’t easily blown away.
Though stones tend to get hotter than organic mulch, the plants here in Florida don’t seem to mind. Some rocks tend to stay cooler than others.
Rocks and stones are also more durable than organic mulch, this makes them ideal for high traffic areas such as driveways and walkways.
Though mulch such as pine bark breaks down and adds beneficial organic material into the soil such as nitrogen and phosphorus, but they also tend to attract insects with the decaying matter. Since rocks don’t decompose, the insect problem is greatly diminished. The fact is organic mulch and stones, both have great advantages.
