Mulch and Wood

Three of the four materials share one make. Black Shredded Mulch, Brown Shredded Mulch and Red Mulch are double shredded, which means the wood runs through the grinder twice. The second pass leaves fine, stringy pieces that knit into a mat once they settle. That mat holds on a gentle slope, stays put in wind and covers soil evenly. The three differ only in color: black, brown and red, so the choice among them comes down to the look of the house and the plants around it.^[1]

Wood Chips are the coarse member of the group. The pieces run 1 to 3 inches, in a natural wood color, and they stay loose instead of matting. A cubic yard of Wood Chips weighs 700 lb, a little less than the 800 lb of the shredded mulches, since the larger pieces leave more air between them. That open texture lets water and air through fast and makes the chips slow to break down.^[1]

The jobs here are surface jobs on soil: covering flower and shrub beds, ringing trees, lining a path through a garden, filling the floor of a natural play space, keeping weeds off a fence line. Mulch is not soil, so do not use it to fill a bed or raise grade. It is not a stone either, and it will not carry a car or hold a slope against running water.^[1]

For flower beds at the front of a house, the color of the shredded mulch is the main call. Black Shredded Mulch gives the sharpest contrast with green leaves and bright flowers, and it suits modern homes and dark trim. Brown Shredded Mulch looks the most like bare forest floor, so it blends into any style and shows wear the least as it ages. Red Mulch makes a bold border and pairs well with brick, though some buyers find it loud next to red or orange blooms.^[1]

For slopes and windy spots, pick any of the double shredded mulches over Wood Chips. The fine, stringy texture of Black Shredded Mulch, Brown Shredded Mulch and Red Mulch locks into a mat that resists sliding and blowing, while loose chips can drift downhill after a hard rain.^[1]

For paths, play spaces and wide natural areas, Wood Chips win. The 1 to 3 inch pieces make a springy, well drained tread that does not pack into mud, and their natural color looks at home under trees and along a woodland edge. Chips also break down more slowly than shredded mulch, so a thick path layer lasts longer between top-ups. They look rougher than a dyed mulch, which makes them less suited to a formal bed by the front door.^[1]

For tree rings, any of the four works. A shredded mulch gives a neat, finished circle on a lawn, and Wood Chips suit a large ring under a mature tree where a natural look fits better. Pick the one that matches the beds nearby, so the yard reads as one design.^[1]

Mulch is ordered by the cubic yard, and each of the four materials in this group shares one set of coverage figures. For 100 square feet, you need 0.62 cubic yards at 2 inches deep, 0.93 cubic yards at 3 inches, 1.23 cubic yards at 4 inches and 1.85 cubic yards at 6 inches. For each further hundred square feet, add the same amount again.^[1]

Beds take 2 to 3 inches. A fresh bed of Brown Shredded Mulch at 3 inches needs 0.93 cubic yards for 100 square feet. A bed that already has an old layer needs only a top-up, so the 2 inch row, 0.62 cubic yards, is the usual refresh. Measure each bed on its own, length times width, and add the totals up before you order.^[1]

Paths and play spaces of Wood Chips run deeper, since feet push the chips aside. At 4 inches, 100 square feet takes 1.23 cubic yards, and at 6 inches it takes 1.85 cubic yards. A deep layer stays springy and keeps weeds from finding light.^[1]

A tree ring is a circle, so the easy way to measure it is as a square as wide as the ring. That square is a little larger than the circle, and the extra makes up for mulch lost to settling and spillover. Measure across the ring in feet, multiply that width by itself and read the row for your depth. A ring of Red Mulch at 3 inches takes 0.93 cubic yards for each 100 square feet of that square.^[1]

Each material in this group is sold by the yard, meaning the cubic yard, not by the ton. Mulch is light and springy, and its weight shifts with every rain, so volume is the fair and steady measure. The coverage figures above come in cubic yards for the same reason, so the number you work out is the number you order.^[1]

Weight still plays a part in delivery. A cubic yard of shredded mulch weighs 800 lb and a cubic yard of Wood Chips weighs 700 lb, far less than stone or soil. A truck fills its bed with mulch long before it gets near a weight limit, so the size of the truck bed decides how many cubic yards ride in one trip. Wet mulch is heavier than dry mulch of the same volume, though the volume you receive stays the same.^[1]

Three things move the delivered price. Distance comes first, since each load is a round trip from the yard to your site. Load size comes next, because a full truck spreads that trip across more cubic yards. The material is the third. Black Shredded Mulch, Brown Shredded Mulch and Red Mulch go through a second shred and a color treatment, while Wood Chips are a natural product with less handling. The table below this section shows what each one runs in your area.^[1]

Piling mulch against a tree trunk is the most common mistake. A cone of mulch packed against the bark holds moisture there, invites rot and pests, and can girdle the tree over a few seasons. Spread the ring wide and flat, and pull the mulch back a hand's width from the trunk so the root flare shows.^[1]

Too deep and too thin both cause trouble. A layer much deeper than the 3 inch row starves roots of air and keeps the soil soggy, and too thin a layer lets light through to weed seeds. Keep beds at 2 to 3 inches and rake out old layers before they build up year after year. Paths of Wood Chips can go deeper, since nothing grows under them.^[1]

Skipping the prep wastes the mulch. Pull the weeds and edge the bed before you spread, or the weeds push straight through and the mulch spills onto the lawn. A cut edge, a few inches deep, holds the layer in place. Keep mulch a short gap away from wood siding and door frames, so the house wall stays dry.^[1]

Mixing fresh mulch into the soil is the last trap. Wood Chips and shredded mulch belong on top of the soil. Turned into a bed, raw wood pulls nitrogen from the soil as it breaks down, and plants turn pale. Leave the layer on the surface and let it feed the soil slowly from above.^[1]