Mulch vs. Rock

Trying to decide when it is best to use mulch vs. rock in your landscape beds?

Mulch vs. rock, it can be hard to determine which is best and most cost effective for your project. We are going to outline the pros and cons of each. In alot of scenarios we say use both. As seen in the photo above, you can creatively accent both products together and lower the overall maintenance of your project. Mulch and rock do compliment each other very well. You can accent some beds completely with landscaping rock while in other places use only mulch, or use them together. You will have places around your home that you will not be planting annuals year after year and will enjoy the benefit of the lower maintenance and ease of spring clean up with landscape rock. While in other places you will enjoy the added benefit of nutrients to the soil and protection of your plants with mulch.

 MULCH

Landscaping with mulch will give your outdoor space a clean and polished look while adding curb appeal to the exterior of your home. In areas you use mulch, you will enjoy that mulch will help prevent some weed germination and land erosion. You will easily be able to replant annuals year after year. Mulch is ideal for your landscaping beds, gardening areas, and around trees. When considering mulch vs. rock mulch greatly helps retain moisture in your soil, adds nutrients, protects your plants from the freeze of the winter and the heat of the summer, and helps moderate your soil temperature. It is lower cost initially, but will need to be refreshed year after year and can become costly. You may get away with just topping it off, but at some point you will need to dig out and remove all of the old broken down mulch and refresh with completely new. In most cases you will have to do a little removing of mulch each year while cleaning your beds to remove leaves and plant debris that has accumulated. Overall mulching is worth the effort and is a great benefit to your plants and overall look of your landscaping. If you are tired of mulching and would like to hire a professional to do it for you, give us a call. We would be happy to make recommendations for local professionals who would be happy to assist you with your project! Please follow this link> (Estes Mulch Selections) to view the type of hardwood mulches we have available in stock year around. Mulch is sold by the yard and available in bulk for pick up or delivery. We will sell mulch down to the 1/2 yard quantity. We are open to the public and have qualified wholesale programs available for industry tradesmen. It is recommended in any areas where you are using mulch or planting to use a weed barrier fabric. It helps greatly prevent the germination of weeds, keeps your landscape beds as maintenance free as possible, while making sure the nutrients of the soil are reaching the plants you wish to thrive. Link>Alliance Gator Fabric.

Why Choose Mulch:

Mulch Benefits:

• Adds curb appeal
• Ideal for gardening areas and around trees
• Retains moisture in the soil
• Adds nutrients to the soil
• Protects your plants from the sun and heat
• Protects plants from the cold and freeze
• Moderates soil temperature
• Inexpensive up front
• Protection from land erosion
• Prevents some weed germination

Mulch Cons:

• Replaced yearly
• Time consuming
• Costly over time
• Harder to spring clean up beds
• Lesser prevention of weed germination
• Not ideal for really wet areas

Landscaping Rock 

Commonly referred to as river rock, decorative gravel, stone mulch, or landscaping rock. Natural stone gravel or rock is used for landscaping purposes to enhance the aesthetic appeal to the outdoors of your home. It is the lowest maintenance option when considering mulch vs. rock. When using landscape rock it will not require to be replenished year after year. “Top dressing” (a commonly used term used for referencing the adding of a thin layer of rock to the top of your landscaping beds) is typically desired 8 -10 years after your initial installation. Should your rock ever become dull or show signs of weather, by simply power washing the top layer of your rock it will restore the life and the original coloring of the stone. Landscaping gravel will never break down or deteriorate. Spring cleaning your landscape beds may still be required to remove debris from leaves, grass, and plants but can easily be blown out with a powered blower. In areas where you are planting annuals, it is a little more difficult to dig out the rock for the plants when comparing mulch vs. rock and we would not recommend for gardening areas. However, it is ideal for areas with perennial plants and will not hurt your plants or restrict growth. We would recommended using decorative pots to set in landscape rock beds for your annual plants. One of the biggest benefits of landscaping rock when considering mulch vs. rock is the prevention of weed germination and erosion control using rock adds. It also increases drainage and is great to use in wetter areas. Landscaping rock is more expensive up front, but due to the lower maintenance of the product we would argue that saving time also equals saving money. You will save time and money year after year by not having to replace the product. Shall you ever decide you want to change color? By digging out just the top 1-2″ you can top off your beds with any material, while the older material underneath will act as a base and help with water drainage and weed prevention.  If your unable to install the landscape rock yourself and would like to hire a professional give us a call. We would be happy to make recommendations for local professionals who would be happy to assist you with your project! Please follow this link> (Estes Landscape Gravel Selections) to view one of the 31 landscaping rock choices we have in stock year around. Landscaping rock is sold by the ton and available in bulk for pick up or delivery. We will sell rock down to the lb quantity. We are open to the public and have qualified wholesale programs available for industry tradesmen. It is also recommended in all landscape beds for added weed prevention to use a weed barrier fabric. It helps further prevent the germination of weeds and keeps your landscape beds as maintenance free as possible. Link>Alliance Gator Fabric.

Why Choose Landscaping Rock:

Benefits of Natural Stone:

• Adds curb appeal
• Doesn’t deteriorate or break down
• Lower cost over time
• Protects plants from the cold and freeze
• Protection from land erosion
• Greatest prevention of weed germination
• Increases drainage
• Great for wet areas
• Easy spring clean up

Natural Stone Cons:

• Doesn’t add any nutrients to the soil
• More expensive upfront
• Not ideal for gardens or annuals

Rather you decided to use mulch vs rock, we are happy to assist with your project. Please choose us as your landscape supplier! We stock the highest quality products and have enjoyed supplying Indiana for over 40 years. Our knowledgeable staff would be happy to answer any questions about your project, so please do not hesitate to give us a call. 812-546-6181

Looking for ideas for your landscaping projects? Please visit our Pinterest page for inspiration! Link>Estes Pinterest

ROCK ON!