I've used "purchased" pine bark mulch with great success, on and off, for 20 years. There's no dyes, it's generally already composted (no worries about sucking nitrogen out of the soil), and it holds its shape through the rain (it will compress over time). That allows me to build up drip rings around the roses. The really nice thing is that it has NO detrimental effect whatsoever with piling on the canes at the center of the rose. This allows you to keep the bud union and stronger canes buried and protected (in the face of years of erosion). Where to get it varies, but usually Walmart, Home Depot or Lowes. The free stuff certainly costs less, but you have no way of knowing what's in it, whether decomposition will harm the canes, or whether it's going to suck out the nitrogen. I've seen many mulch piles that sit and smoke from the composting heat - literally. That's the opposite of what you want to put on the rose canes.

I often do that with the newspapers--& when you say a few layers, think really thick, like a whole section--then I put grass clippings over them for a mulch. By next year it will have broken down & improved your soil. Good luck. BTW, the easiest way to get the newspapers down is to put the dry papers into a garden cart or wheelbarrow & fill the thing with water. You want the papers to be wet when you put them down.

Hi Julie- Yes, I mulch and leave the mulch. I am always amazed at posts here and on the AHS robin were people say they can hardy see the daylilies because of weeds. I have hardy any weeds because I mulch heavily. I do have lots of slugs because of the mulch. Mostly, I don't do much. Tried the sluggo years back but try to go organic as much as I can so mostly try beer traps. I am trying to get a polulation of Toads established which would really help. I leave the mulch on the rose beds as its there to keep out the weeds. I never have tried picking up rose leaves as advised by many. I don't do lots of things that are "common wisdom" and do many things differently in my garden. Works for me. Usually I have not a hint of Blackspot as I spray every two weeks on the dot. Works great. I have stopped spraying more than a month ago as I got lazy. Too eary to stop spraying so there is blackspot and dropped leaves on roses. Its amazing to see some get lots of blackspot and see a rose next to it with none! At any rate, the blackspotted leaves do not concern me as in the spring I will be spraying again and all summer/fall so the roses stay nice and clean. Its just that its lots of work as I have so many roses. Last year I got blackspot late in the year in late fall when I stopped spraying also. The year before too. Never cleaned up any leaves. And I get lots and lots of compliments on the healthy green leaves on the roses all during the growing season. Spray them with a combo of BAYER ADVANCED DEASEASE CONTROL (fungicide only, no insecticide) with some Nepture Seaweed liquid fertilizer mixed in. Every two weeks. Since I statered planting my garden to attract backyard songbirds, butterflies, hummingbirds and bees, I would never use insecticides. I remember the roses got aphids this year quite badly and I did nothing. Lady bugs came but better yet, I watched the biirds sit on the rose shrubs and bick off aphids and eat all day. Sort of like an all you can eat buffet for birds. The chicadeess fed them to their littles ones in the birdhouse in the back yard and the wrens to their little ones in the front yard. And I don't even pay attention to planting space. My roses are crammed together. I love the look of lots of flowers, not a shrub surrounded by mulched empty space. My shrubs are planted closely, looks good. I have to prune sometimes but no big deal to me. I guess thats why many of my daylilies are planted very closely, I am not big on lots of space between things. I can afford it either as I do not have a large yard. In the shot of the driveway garden above, one can just about make out the berries for the backyard birds on the viburnams and red aronia pictured. I usually do not take pictures of it because its the daylily forum but I have a mixed shrub berries for the birds border going all along the south property line and it looks great. Sort of like the edge of a woods. Lots and lots of viburnum berries going on there now. Birds love my garden.

Can't speak to Viking specifically, but we are getting rid of a high end dual-fuel Dacor range that we've had for 12 yrs. It is still a beautiful looking appliance that I'm certain someone would even still pay to have in their kitchen. But I wouldn't give it to anyone I know in good conscience knowing the costly and inconvenient problems we've had with its electronics. I would heed hollysprings' warnings on this.