Pine Straw Mulching In Winter
Winter is here, but no worries Pine Straw is near!
Winter is here and full swing and for most gardeners this means pack up your shovel and your spade. But NO! This is not the time to pack it in; this is the time to nurture your plants and gardens. To help ensure a lush crop or a breath-taking landscape come spring, you must protect your plants from the frigged cold air with pine straw.
Pine straw needles are preferred by many gardeners to mulch their glorious gardens because they are a natural, readily available and inexpensive way to mulch garden plants. Mulching around your plants helps to contain soil erosion, helps the plant retain moisture in the soil and also provides a steady supply of nutrients to a plant as the needles decompose. Pine mulch, or pine straw, has a rich, earthy color that many gardeners employ as contrast against the bright blooms of annuals, perennials and green-leafed plants. Acidic-loving plants respond particularly well to pine straw mulch.
Blueberries, Hostas, flowering annuals, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, flowering perennials and Camellias are just some of the plants, which benefit greatly from getting extra care through the help of pine straw during the winter.
Blueberries prefer acid soils with a pH level of about 4.5 (soils with a pH of 7 or less is considered acidic). Pine straw spread around the base of blueberry plants helps them maintain a proper pH value as the mulch gradually decomposes.
Broad-leafed Hostas—also acid-loving plants—do well with a thick layer of pine needles spread around the base of each plant. Not only will the mulch keep the soil moist, but it will also provide a pleasing contrast to the lush blue-greens, greens or yellow-gold’s of different Hosta varieties.
Flowering Annuals this is because annuals mature and bloom relatively quickly during the growing season, pH levels in soil aren’t as critical to them. Pansies, zinnias, snapdragons, dahlias and marigolds respond well when mulched with pine needles, especially since pine straw is light enough for young annual plants or bulbs to push through as they grow toward the sun.
Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias these vivid pinks, reds, whites and orange shrubs add a dramatic beauty to any garden. These largely evergreen shrubs thrive in damp, acid soils. Mulching with pine needles ensures proper pH soil levels for azaleas and rhododendrons throughout the growing season. Camellia growers in the Gulf States of the U.S. spread pine needle mulch around their prize-winning camellia shrubs not only for soil nutrition and temperature maintenance, but also for aesthetic reasons.
Flowering perennials such as daylilies, Shasta daisies, coreopsis and canna lilies grow well when mulched with pine needles. Pine straw also prevents mud from spattering on plants after a heavy rainfall.
Winter is not over and has barely even begun, there is still time for you to brave the cold and nurture your garden. Custom Pine Straw in North Florida is who came to my rescue and saved my garden from these cruel temperatures and I know they can help you too.
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