Flower Bed Rocks Vs Mulch

Flowers dont thrive in beds mulched with rocks but sturdy drought-tolerant plants like succulents do well.

Flower bed rocks vs mulch. Bark mulch is commonly used in flowerbeds and garden beds and to protect ornamental plants. Temperature Control With its ability to regulate soil temperatures decorative gravel will ensure that the ground doesnt overheat which could cause the flowers to dry out. While mulch certainly has some big points in its favor it does have some drawbacks as well.

Stone or rock mulch on the other hand is predominantly a crushed stone and is popular along walkways driveways and around buildings. Rock mulch greatly helps retain moisture in your soil adds nutrients protects your plants from the freeze of the winter and the heat of the summer and helps moderate your soil temperature. One of the changes we made was to replace all the mulch around the patio with river rocks and possibly all the flower beds with rocks instead of mulch.

So while mulch must be replaced every season rocks last many times longer and may even last the lifetime of your garden. Rock beds are naturally warmer than beds of mulch. Stones are generally less expensive compared to mulch that must be replaced at least once a year.

It is lower cost initially but will need to be refreshed year after year and can become costly. I knew from experience in our past house that flower bed rocks would keepstay much better than mulch so we decided to go for it. When considering adding rock mulch or wood mulch your flower bed an organic wood mulch is by far more affordable.

The reason why we said so is that in the idea the real natural stepping stones are placed right on top of rock mulch. Because mulch soaks up water and holds in moisture its an obvious choice for flower beds around the base of newly planted trees or in any other area heavily packed with plants. There are pros and cons to stone coatings.

Gravel is heavy making DIY installation difficult. Certain mulches start to decompose as soon as theyre exposed to elements like rain and snow. Rock on the other hand is perfect for those who take pleasure in an excess of sunlight on their gardens.