Stop overmulching your customers trees & shrubs

I don’t have to tell you that bark mulch is good for trees & shrubs for a variety of reasons. You already know this.

It looks good in the landscape and can help tie the whole landscape together among different planting beds.

It keeps weeds down from underneath.

It helps to keep roots cool in summer months and holds moisture in the soil.

It can also keep soil from eroding on slopes.

It can also help to insulate roots from extreme winter cold.

Best of all, You get paid to do it.

When Mulching, I want to remind customers on some of the basics & an alternative ,very profitable alternative:

When mulching, try to remember to use a weed fabric that is allowed to breathe under the mulch in an attempt to keeps weeds down. Just make sure you don’t use standard rolled plastic sheets. It does not allow rain or irrigation water to penetrate to the root zone, and it also may also restrict oxygen to the roots.

Mulch itself can also cause problems if it is applied improperly. I often see mulch applied incorrectly on a daily basis in the summer months. The # 1 culprit is applying so deep that air cannot penetrate into the soil and roots will suffocate. It can also be so deep that water cannot penetrate and the roots may dry out. Sometimes the feeder roots grow upwards into the mulch. Neither of these conditions is healthy for the trees or shrubs.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the bark mulch volcano. (see pictures below)

A mulch volcano is something that is extremely unhealthy for the tree or shrub & they just look kind of silly sometimes.

Mulch volcanoes are the mounds or cones of bark mulch that are two or three feet deep, and piled up along the trunks of trees and shrubs.

I am not sure why this habit has developed, but these deep mulch piles can cause much damage to trees & shrubs. I suspect your professional landscaper predecessors are the originators. Not all landscapers do this, but I still see many volcanoes.

I’ve been in this business for a long time & I realize that professional Landscapers get paid to do work. When customers ask for fresh mulch every spring to freshen up the landscape, you can’t and don’t usually turn down the work. After all, this is how you make a living.

Tree & shrub trunks are covered with bark that is designed to protect the trunk. They need air and light. If you pile too mulch onto the bark, it will be exposed to dark and moisture. As the bark continues to be in the moisture, it will begin to rot. Rotted bark cannot protect the tree from diseases, and in fact, diseases grow better in the dark moisture of the mulch. The offending trunks are more likely to get diseases and allow harmful insects to damage trees.

Some trees have shallow roots, especially maples. If bark mulch volcanoes are piled around the trunk, the roots will start to grow into it. These roots tend to stay in the mulch volcano and will then grow around the trunk in the mulch. As the root grows in diameter, it pushes against the trunk, which is also trying to grow bigger. These roots will eventually strangle the trunk. This type of root is called a “girdling root”. The trunk will keep growing wider above and below the girdling root, and may actually encase the root.

It also doesn’t encourage the tree and shrub roots to expand out in a healthy fashion. Healthy root growth has many agronomic advantages, but it also aids in stability.

Bark mulch is best when put down to a depth of about 3-4 inches if you are starting from scratch.

Even though bark mulch does break down some, after 2-3 years of annual mulching on top of mulch, it often accumulates to unhealthy levels for you plants.

So what do you do instead of annually piling more mulch on top of mulch?

I’ve got a better way that is more profitable, healthier, and with much less work.

MULCH MAGIC

Mulch Magic® is an easy-to-apply, long lasting spray colorant which restores the bright, original-looking color to faded fibrous mulch products like cedar, cypress, redwood bark, pine straw and mWith one quick application, it helps keep landscapes looking freshly groomed for three months or longer.

Looks Great and easy to apply.

With Mulch Magic®, one person with a sprayer can quickly restore the color to keep existing mulch looking its best. As the existing mulch breaks down naturally and renews the soil, replace with new mulch to keep your landscaping investment looking sharp throughout the growing season. Mulch Magic® will also help blend the color of the older mulch with the newer mulch. Enjoy all the benefits of colored mulch because of the endless design possibilities using color, contrast, and texture in your landscape.

At only 3-4 oz per gallon of water, It goes a long way, saving money and labor.

Here is the math behind the profits:

Mulch Magic comes in ½ gallon concentrate

Case of 4 is 2 gallons

Case costs about $ 120.00 for 2 Gallons (256 oz)

That’s roughly 50 cents an oz.

(I’m using the absolute highest label rate for this calculation coming up, and it may be even cheaper if your job requires a lighter rate. I’m using the absolute most expensive rate for the purpose of this example.)

3-4 oz of Mulch Magic per gallon of water covers 200-400 sq ft
(200 sq ft probably a single app rate, 400 sq ft, a 2 direction pass)

1000 sq ft of mulch beds is actually a decent size bed on an average city property.
Just multiply this by 2, 3 or whatever your area is to mulch if need be.

At 50 cents an ounce, it will take 20 ounces (at the absolute highest rate) to treat that mulch.

That’s only 10 bucks!

One single man can now do this job in 20 minutes instead of 2-3 men for 5 times longer.

NO Mulch to buy either. Ten Bucks & 20 minutes !

How much Mulch would you need to do it the old way?

My mulch calculator tells me you need 6.17 yards of mulch for only 2 inch depth.

How much does mulch cost these days?

25-30 dollars a yard ? That’s $150-180 dollars for mulch alone.

How much are you charging per yard to install? $40-50 a yard?

After paying 2-3 men working for a minimum 2 hours to apply it, whats left?

I’m not sure, but if you used Mulch Magic and charged 1/3 to ½ , you would make more money in less time.

Charge more if you want or even get your high end customers on a twice yearly program
the place looking fresh.

If you have properties with years of accumulating bark mulch, give Mulch Magic a try.

Agronomically its healthier, the customer will be happy with the savings, and best of all, you will Make More Money in less time.
With a little marketing, this could even be a very profitable upsell to all of your customers.

check the before and after photos

Before

After

So instead of spreading unhealthy levels of bark mulch yearly, try a product like Mulch Magic or similar every other year or for 2 years in a row before adding new mulch.

Your customers trees & shrubs will love you for it!! And you will make more MONEY doing it

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