Our focus is on commercial properties like offices, mixed-use sites, HOAs, municipalities and institutions in Maryland, Washington DC and parts of Virginia. Contact us at You can also request a free consultation online to meet with us one-on-one. But when is rock a good choice? If you have drainage issues on your property, rock is a great mulch choice, allowing water to drain quickly. If you have open bed areas without plants, rock is an easy, no maintenance option. Rocks are great for high-traffic areas, where pedestrians tend to take short cuts.
Trampled plants look terrible, but rocks stand up to the stress. How About Maintenance? Curb Appeal This is really a matter of taste and design preference. Others like the bright, clean look of rocks. What About Cost? Rock is more expensive than bark mulch. What Does Your Soil Prefer? Things To Consider If your landscape has trees that drop a lot of leaves and debris, rock mulch might not be your best choice, as it accumulates and sticks in the rocks.
Rocks require a fabric weed barrier underneath to discourage weeds from poking up through the rocks. Rocks need steel edging or a raised concrete barrier to keep stray rocks from shifting into turf areas. To apply mulch on top of rocks is not as hard as it sounds; it just takes some time and preparation. Start by gently plowing the area of the beds and then rake them smooth afterward. Remove existing weeds and other inorganic debris all over the beds—likewise, trim excess bushes and tree branches.
Lastly, apply pre-emergent herbicide to prevent the germination of seeds that sprout weeds. There is a need to fertilize the beds, but use mulch like compost and straw and do it in such a way that it is level about inches thick over the ground for this will enhance soil moisture.
Most commercial fabrics contain petroleum and other chemicals that may slowly contaminate the soil, which is quite a concern, especially for vegetables and other edible plants. Cardboard and newspapers biodegrade quicker and become nutrient-rich mulch themselves within a year or two. There is a need to compute the length and width of the layer beds to be covered, and one way to do that is to make sure to overlap the landscape fabric by at least one-fourth inch on every overlapping edge on all sides.
It is best to secure the fabric using wood or bark posts on each side edge as well as one wood post on the middle as an anchor, and the fabric will be as level as the slope provides. The mulch itself acts as a weed barrier. Using bark wood as anchors will look so natural, and people who see the mulch bed would want to do the same. It is now time to get to mulch your landscape so that you and other people can see and appreciate your work.
A serious thing to consider is the choice of smaller nuggets or wood bark that can fit the mulch bed and still be aesthetically a wonder to the eyes because they make full coverage and quickly replace it. Wood mulch and natural fabric contribute to saving the soil because of its continued need for fertilization, and it becomes especially so on rocks. Rocks offer no nutrients, but if they are enveloped with such thick mulches on top as illustrated and get biodegraded through the years, you will eventually get one fertilized rocky ground.
It will not take hundreds of years to happen; you can already see the result of the mulch on the mulch method after 12 months. Skip to content. Rock Mulch Rocks are a great use in landscaping if they can be properly arranged. Drainage and Maintenance Rock beds also provide natural drainage since they drain water much better than soil.
Wood Mulch Rocks may be maintenance-free, but they could not provide nutrients to the soil. Soil Enrichment Wood and other organic mulch aside from rocks have to be replaced regularly as good landscaping practice. Weed Control Weed control is the main purpose of mulch for landscape usage. Landscape Fabric Organic mulch, on the other hand, need landscape fabric to be effective against weeds. On the flip side, having mulch in your garden beds helps to regulate the temperature of soil and retains ample moisture to create a damp environment for plants to grow.
It keeps your plants insulated which protects them from harsh weather conditions. So when you consider the labor required for installation and the best environment for plant growth, the winner is mulch and the loser is rocks.
Watch the video below to learn more about the process for installing plants. I know I know, you may be thinking: what if I lay down a weed barrier before I install rock? While this is true, weeds are still prone to grow above the fabric barrier. Because wind will eventually blow soil on top of the fabric. All that is needed is a little dirt for the weeds to grow in. Once you get a few weeds, then everyone knows that more weed growth is right around the corner. All the sudden, BAM, your beautiful rock gardens are infested with weeds on top of the protective barrier you installed.
Mulch creates a natural barrier for weeds. A good 2 inch layer of mulch will suppress the weed seedling upon germination which will make it much harder for weeds to infest your garden bed.
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