I am planting a small rock garden area. I'm going to use various
yarrows, phormium jack spratt, mexican heather, and a few other
plants. I would like to use shredded bark in the bare areas. I've
read that mulches like shredded bark should be applied 2 inches deep.
I assume I don't plant the plants, particularly the yarrows, and then
put 2 inches of mulch around them - it would nearly bury the plant.
Do I plant on small raised areas and have the mulch very thin around
the plants? Do I plant on a level surface, lay 2 inches of mulch and
then pull the mulch away from the plant forming a small basin? Or is
there some other technique?

I've always used ground covers in the past but I would like a differnt
look in this area. I've not used mulches so I'm not quite clear how
to do this. Seems like I could rot the bottom part of the plant if I
don't do this right. I'm in southern california - hot with clay soil.
(I've never been able to determine my zone. All the maps I've seen
are so small scale that it is difficult to precisely determine my
location. Is there a web site where I can enter my city and get the
zone? I'm in Redlands, CA in case someone knows my zone.)

This area has had very few weeds in the past so I'm not sure about
using a landscaping cloth. I've never used that material either, so
any thoughts on this material for this use also apprceiated.

Don wrote:
(I've never been able to determine my zone. All the maps I've seen
are so small scale that it is difficult to precisely determine my
location. Is there a web site where I can enter my city and get the
zone? I'm in Redlands, CA in case someone knows my zone.)



http://www.arborday.org/trees/whatzone.html

"The ZIP code you have entered, 92373 is in hardiness zone 9."



--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Plant on a level surface, and just keep the mulch a little thinner around
the base of your new plants. It won't take them long to grow tall enough
that it won't really be an issue. It's one of those things that seems a lot
more confusing when you read about it than it is when you actually do it.
As you are spreading the mulch it will be apparent how it should go.

I don't like using landscape cloth. If I have a particularly weedy area, I
will lay down sheets of newspapers to act as a barrier under the mulch. If
your area is not weedy to start with, the mulch should be sufficient. You
may still need to pull the occasional weed, but the mulch makes that easier
to do.

IMO hardwood *bark* mulch is far superior to "hardwood mulch", which is
often just chipped and dyed wood. They use old pallets for that awful dyed
red stuff......The bark mulch looks better, handles better, has a better
texture, and lasts a lot longer. "Hardwood mulch" can disappear in a single
summer here, while a good quality bark mulch can easily last two years.
It's a bit more expensive, but well worth it.

Cheers,
Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA

"Don" wrote in message
om...
I am planting a small rock garden area. I'm going to use various
yarrows, phormium jack spratt, mexican heather, and a few other
plants. I would like to use shredded bark in the bare areas. I've
read that mulches like shredded bark should be applied 2 inches deep.
I assume I don't plant the plants, particularly the yarrows, and then
put 2 inches of mulch around them - it would nearly bury the plant.
Do I plant on small raised areas and have the mulch very thin around
the plants? Do I plant on a level surface, lay 2 inches of mulch and
then pull the mulch away from the plant forming a small basin? Or is
there some other technique?

I've always used ground covers in the past but I would like a differnt
look in this area. I've not used mulches so I'm not quite clear how
to do this. Seems like I could rot the bottom part of the plant if I
don't do this right. I'm in southern california - hot with clay soil.
(I've never been able to determine my zone. All the maps I've seen
are so small scale that it is difficult to precisely determine my
location. Is there a web site where I can enter my city and get the
zone? I'm in Redlands, CA in case someone knows my zone.)

This area has had very few weeds in the past so I'm not sure about
using a landscaping cloth. I've never used that material either, so
any thoughts on this material for this use also apprceiated.

How does the referenced hardiness zone related to "Sunset" zones? Are
they the same?



"Warren" wrote in message news:I7BBa.1067195$S_4.1078474@rwcrnsc53...
Don wrote:
(I've never been able to determine my zone. All the maps I've seen
are so small scale that it is difficult to precisely determine my
location. Is there a web site where I can enter my city and get the
zone? I'm in Redlands, CA in case someone knows my zone.)



http://www.arborday.org/trees/whatzone.html

"The ZIP code you have entered, 92373 is in hardiness zone 9."



--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Don wrote:
How does the referenced hardiness zone related to "Sunset" zones? Are
they the same?

The USDA zones essentially take only the average winter low into
consideration. The Sunset zones also take the summer highs, and (I
think) humidity into consideration.

You can find a complete explanation in any of the Sunset garden books.
Their website doesn't have much publicly accessible information anymore.
You need to be a Sunset magazine subscriber, or an AOL member to access
much of it. I'm not sure if the explanation of the zones falls into that
premium category. I no longer use them as a reference.

While the Sunset zones are more complete, they aren't universally
adopted (in part because of trademark and copyright issues.) Even so, a
simple zone number is only a very basic starting point.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

I agree with what Sugarchile said. 2" is about right, just dont pile
up around the base of the plants. If I am planting 6"(1 qt) or
smaller plants, I mulch first, then clear a small area to put the
plant in. I also dont think fabric is a good idea in planting areas,
I only use it under hardscape.

Sugarchile, I guess mulch names probably change area to area. In
Dallas, hardwood mulch is shredded hardwood from trees, then aged.
Dyed mulch is called dyed mulch, and I agree with you, it is awful.
My favorite is shredded cedar, then hardwood. The place I buy it
shreds it into a very fibrous mulch which stays put very well, whereas
the dyed mulch is chipped and disappears with any wind or rain.

Bryan