Pine Needles for Mulch

flowerluv_2009

15 years ago

I am using pine needles for mulch in the garden. I have them stuffed around my Christmas ferns. It allows the ferns to stand up a bit and look more atractive in the winter months. They must like the acid as I often see them in the woods growing under pine trees. I would love to use them in other beds where I have hostas to help protect the hostas from the severe winter and also because they give a nice tidy look to the garden during the winter. I am not sure if this will be too much acid for the hostas. Let me know what you think.

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Comments (6)

louisianagal
15 years ago
I've never heard of that being a problem, nor have I had problems with my hostas and use pine needles alot.
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nckvilledudes
15 years ago
The pH of your soil is greatly buffered by the materials in it. I don't think that the decomposition of the pine needles is going to affect the pH of your soil that much since as things are composted the pH becomes neutral. Living in the south, pine needles are used for mulching a wide variety of plants and I have never seen them suffer due to the soil pH being affected by their use.

If you are that concerned you might want to take soil samples before you start using the needles, then apply them and wait a few years and then take more soil samples to see if your pH is changed much. If so, you can always add lime under the pine needles, but I think that it will be unnecessary.
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I am wondering if the reason they do not want you to use pine needles is that they want the rose to develop for a couple of years. @Strawchicago has posted that rose roots change over time. Baby or first year roses need something different then older more mature plants. I know that Rose Unlimited also recommends a different feeding plan for first year roses then the more mature bushes.... hopefully someone in the more know can answer why Heirloom might say this.... Also I wonder if all pine straw is the same... Much of the pine straw in Florida is from the Australian pine tree. It is now consider and invasive plant and people can't plant it, but the needles can be up to two feet long... I have a norfolk pine tree that has kind of branch(ie) needle about a half foot long with tiny needles less then 1/4 inch off the main needle. and of course the scotch pine and fraiser fir trees loose their needles at Christmas, and their needles are totally different.... I wonder what the nutrient differences are in all of them.
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We live in Oklahoma City. I planted loblolly pines down the sides of our land, in part, to use specifically as mulch for our many rose bushes. Roses prefer soil acidity of around 6.5 percent. Pine needles are roughly 3.5 percent acidic. So, with an average soil alkalnity, or an even slightly acidic to acidic soil , pine needles are an optimum mulch for not only roses, but most flowering plants and shrubs. I'm a casual/lazy gardener, which means that I plant perennials, re-seeders, shrubs and tubers/bulbs. My research and calls to my local county extension indicate that pine needles are perfect for my uses. I rake the needles, and spread them around my plants, in places, in long streaks of piles on side beds. This is easy, and nothing else is required! I just do a little patting down and smoothing of piles and I have beautiful beds, almost ZERO WEEDS, and year long mild acidity, as well as nitrogen as the needles break down into rich, dark soil!
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upper peninsula of the state of michigan ... man donna.. you really need to get out of NJ .... its gods country .... maybe 90% forest ... state and national forests ... logged to oblivion during the logging days .... just south of the biggest fresh water lake in the world.. i think.. lake superior .... average about 360 inches of snow per winter ..... it melts in may or so ... to get there you have to cross a 5 miles bridge know as the mackinaw bridge .... and they talk funny up there.. lol ... they have a brown foamy beer colored river .... and some of the biggest deer in the country .... i could go on ... but i will let barb chime in... did i cover it pretty well ... if you have nothing else to do because it is raining.. take the virtual tour .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: virtual tour
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Pine neddles/ straw makes an excellent/ wonderful mulch. I have used it for years originally only during the hot dry summer for weed supression and moisture retention. I now use it year round it works well on the winter weeds and grasses. My old method was in the spring rake off the pinestraw from my garden beds add compost, till then put old pinestraw back on and add new straw to vegtable beds. In my opinion the old pinestraw makes the best mulch for veggies because it has partially broken down and can be placed easier and closer to the plant stems with less potential to smother the plants it also lies flatter whch is good. I also somtimes comeback and add an additional layer after the intial one has been rained on and flattens somewhat and also the plants have grown and the risk of them being smothered/covered by the pinestraw mulch is less.In the end the thicker the better. This year I am experimenting with no till by raking off the old pinestraw adding a thick layerof composted cow manure ( I found a free source) then digging my planting holes with a post hole digger sprinkle a small amount of slow release fertilizer in the bottom of the the planting holes. Then planting and reapplying the old pinestraw and adding new. If it were not for the pinestraw/ mulch this would be a disater the free cow manure even though it has been composted to a soil like state has so many weed seeds that my garden would be over run with weeds in a matter of weeks.
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Donna
15 years ago
I put down about five or six inches of pinestraw over every bed I have, both ornamentals and vegetables; paths too. Been doing it for fifteen years. It's ALL good. Go for it.
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tsmith2579
15 years ago
If you are weeding around the pine straw mulch, be on the look out for pygmy rattlesnakes (a.k.a.; ground rattler). They love to snooze under pine straw.
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cyngardens
14 years ago
I just read an article on this in one of the garden magazines that I can't get enough of this time of year, and the pine needle mulch leaching acid into your soil isn't a problem, since it occurs so slowly. The problem is the pine is a carrier for rust. So if you're mulching something that's susceptible to rust, don't use pine. As for snakes, if you sing while you garden it gives them a heads up and they skedaddle. Happy gardening!
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
14 years ago
cyngardens, do you mind if I make a few 'adjustments' to your comments?

Rust is one of those diseases of which there are many different, specific strains. Thus, the rust that affects pines cannot and will not infect other plants (other than susceptible pines). Thank goodness, because pine straw is one of the leading mulching materials in the South!

Also....though I love your singing hint, it won't work on snakes. They can't hear. Not one little flat note or high pitched wail. But if you stomp your feet in time with the music, then you've got their attention. They can sense vibrations from fairly long distances. When in snake territory, I always use a rake, hoe, or shovel handle (whichever tool I'm using) to thump on the ground as I walk. No snakes.

But I still think people should sing in their garden. Just because.
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Pine Needles for Mulch

Comments (6)

louisianagal

nckvilledudes

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Donna

tsmith2579

cyngardens

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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