Free Wood Chip Mulch for Peonies
I was kind of worried this might not come in. I've been calling my tree service guy for about 4 months now asking for free wood chips. I also called all around town to other tree services, but hadn't had any luck finding any wood chips. I was getting really desperate knowing the 2017 American Peony Society Convention being held in Raleigh, NC this year (and there might be a few visitors to my garden). I decided to try the tree service guy I know one more time a week ago. This time he finally said he'd be working in my area and could bring me some mulch! I was overjoyed. Now comes the hard part. Time to get to work shoveling, hauling, dumping, and raking! As you can see my Peony 'Keiko' (Adored) in the background is really happy about getting the new mulch too! :-) If you don't grow Peony 'Keiko' I highly recommend it. It is an outstanding and consistent plant, and is one of my Southern Peony Best Performers.
I have read that fresh arborist mulch is the perfect mulch but it must be applied a min of 3" to prevent weeds and not act as a fertilizer. But peonies don't like to be planted deep as do most other perennials in my GA garden. How do you use/apply this mulch around your peonies?
ReplyDeleteMarsha,
DeleteI always put the most mulch around the edges of the beds. I don't usually put 3", but maybe 1-2". I always avoid the crowns of the peonies, and just put a little underneath the drip lines. This way the mulch is able to decompose slowly over time, adding a bit of organic matter to the soil slowly, just like in nature.
Adriana