This is helpful in vegetable plots. In ornamental plantings of flowers, shrubs and trees, you may prefer a more decorative and long-lasting mulch. Do not use grass which has been treated with hazardous pesticides or herbicides. Annuals, perennials and vegetable seedlings can benefit from a mulch which is moved aside at planting time and then pulled back around the plant as it grows. Mulch trees out to the drip line, which is the outer perimeter of the tree branches.
Mulches can be an ideal hiding place for insects such as slugs and snails.
Mulch should be no deeper than 5-7.5 centimetres. Don't mulch with weeds containing seeds or persistent roots.