7 Best Mulches for Flower Beds to Help Safeguard Your Flora
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Mulch is an essential part of a flower bed, providing numerous benefits like preventing weeds and helping soil retain moisture. Mulch also gives a nice and neat edge to your gardening projects, making everything look better. There are plenty of different types of mulch for you to consider, made from different all-natural ingredients and even with synthetic materials like rubber. And, since the mulch you use is almost as visible as your flowers, it’s important for you to choose a color you like. With all those choices, you might need some help deciding what type of mulch you should buy. That’s why I’ve put together a list that of the best mulches for flower beds for your needs.
Let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
After taking a look back at all the different mulches I’ve used over the years, as well as reading tons of online reviews from other enthusiastic gardeners, I came up with this list of great products. Overall, the top pick among the best mulches for flower beds is the MIGHTY109 Espresso Brown Wood Chip Mulch. It’s an all-natural product made from wood chips, and its brown color simply looks great. And, it comes in a large 42-quart package, so you won’t have to skimp to mulch a couple large flower beds.
My other recommendations are made from different materials, such as Rubberific Premium Shredded Rubber Mulch, and/or come in different colors, like the Gardenera Premium Red Mulch Cover.
Best Overall: MIGHTY109 Espresso Brown Wood Chip Mulch
Why This is a Quality Choice: There are very few situations in which you’ll go wrong using a high-quality wood chip mulch like the MIGHTY109 Espresso Brown Wood Chip Mulch (although we’ll get into some of them later on in this list). And, you can be sure that its all-natural ingredients will only contribute to the health of your garden.
Who is this for? I’d say this is one of the best mulches for flower beds for like 95% of gardeners, unless you’re looking for a very specific alternative.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: This specific product comes in only one color, but you can check out the MIGHTY109 store to see a lot more options. I chose to recommend this color because it’s pretty simple and classic.
Type: Wood | Package size: 24 lbs | Colors available: 1 (Plus extra options on company page)
Best Budget: 100% Natural Cocoa Bean Shell Mulch
Why This is a Quality Choice: Cocoa bean shells are a great way to mulch over the soil your plants are growing in, providing a number of unique benefits. The most notable of these is their pleasant aroma, which can remind you of a cup of hot cocoa. It’s also a material that lets plenty of moisture through, so it can be a good choice for using with particularly thirsty plants.
Who is this for? I think this product is ideal for gardeners who need to fill only a couple of small planters (or grow bags) and plan on placing them in a spot where the pleasant scent of the cocoa bean shells can be enjoyed.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: This is by no means the largest package of mulch on this list. But it does contain a suitable amount of mulch for people who don’t really need a lot and don’t want to buy a huge bag.
Type: Cocoa Bean Shell | Package size: 2.35 pounds | Colors available: 1
Best Premium Mulch: Gardenera Premium Red Mulch Cover
Why This is a Quality Choice: This excellent red mulch cover from the Gardenera brand is an outstanding clean and attractive-looking product. I also really like that the manufacturer has offered customers a wide choice in how much mulch to order at once. You can order packages of this mulch ranging from 1 quart to a huge 20-quart order.
Who is this for? I’d recommend this product to someone who is dead set on getting a mulch with a brilliantly bright red color.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Since this is a natural product, the red color on the mulch will fade after some time outdoors, but you can always refresh the color by adding some new mulch.
Type: Wood | Package size: 1–11.5 lbs | Colors available: 1
Best Rubber Mulch: Rubberific Premium Shredded Rubber Mulch
Why This is a Quality Choice: The Rubberific Premium Shredded Rubber Mulch is the first mulch I’ve featured that isn’t made from natural materials. But that shouldn’t make it a no-go for most gardeners, since high-quality rubber like this isn’t going to harm your garden. Rubber is actually a better choice than most natural products if your main motivation to mulch your flower beds is insect control.
Who is this for? As mentioned, rubber mulch is a great option for gardeners who want to protect their plants from insects, but it’s also a long-lasting product that you won’t have to reapply as often as natural mulch. That’s a great feature for those who don’t have all the time in the world to spend on their garden.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The smallest available order of mulch is 16 pounds, which might be too much for some home gardeners to use efficiently.
Type: Rubber | Package size: 16–1,350 lbs | Colors available: 3
Best Compressed Mulch: Compressed Coconut Husk Chips
Why This is a Quality Choice: Arriving at your door in a large, compacted, square, this coconut husk-based mulch will expand as you break apart and use the product. Mulch made from coconut husks lets a lot of air into your soil and won’t hold as much moisture as other options, making it a great option for covering the pots of small and delicate flowers like orchids.
Who is this for? I put this product on the list specifically for gardeners who would love to have ready access to high-quality mulch but don’t have a lot of storage space.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The process of preparing the compacted mulch for use requires a bit more work than simply pouring mulch out of a bag, like other options allow you to do.
Type: Coconut Husks | Package size: 20 lbs | Colors available: 3
Best Mulch Roll: ZAUGONTW Natural Mulch Roll for Landscaping
Why This is a Quality Choice: The final product on this list is rather different from your other options, since it isn’t a spreadable mulch. Rather, the ZAUGONTW Natural Mulch Roll for Landscaping comes in a large roll that’s like mulch carpet for a garden. It can provide a great barrier to weeds and helps control soil temperature like any other mulch. It can also have a particularly neat appearance with proper installation.
Who is this for? The ZAUGONTW Natural Mulch Roll for Landscaping is a great option for gardeners who wish to enforce a strict boundary between two different growing environments like a lawn and a flower bed.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The process of cutting, shaping, and installing this mulch roll does take a lot of effort. But, if you do it right, the great performance and appearance can be worth it.
Type: Wood | Package size: 6.3 x 120 in roll | Colors available: 3
Buying Considerations for The Best Mulches For Flower Beds
Type
The different types of mulches we’ve gone over on this list have different pros and cons that you should consider. Natural options like mulches made from wood chips or cocoa beans are a great way to cover up soil while allowing lots of water into the soil. Rubber-based mulches can do a great job at preventing weed growth and providing a warmer soil temperature during the colder months of the year. Where and what you plan to plant can make a huge difference to which type will be the best mulch for you.
Size
You also want to be sure to order enough mulch to cover all the soil in your flower beds. This will help you avoid the frustration of needing to order another package to cover just a little bit more soil.
You also don’t want to attempt to stretch your mulch supply and end up using too little in your flower beds, as this will make it less effective. I’d recommend checking out the reviews of each mulch you’re considering to see how much area other customers were able to cover with the package.
Color
Finally, it’s important to pick out a color that you find visually appealing. After all, you’re also going to be looking at your mulch every time you look at your flowers. Some gardeners prefer a natural look for their mulch that won’t distract from the plants themselves. Other gardeners like using a brightly colored mulch for the wow factor. It’s totally up to your style preferences which option you should go for.
How I Choose These Products
I primarily chose these products based on my own experience with using mulch for flower beds over many years. As a result, I’ve built up an understanding of the ways that you can use different types of mulch to help your flower beds flourish.
And I mean that both in terms of what mulch types work well and which brands put out quality mulch. (Of course, mulch is only one part of the equation when it comes to flower beds, which is why this site has covered topics like the best soils you can use and great products to help your composting efforts.)
Nonetheless, the different options on this list all have their own use case and will accord with different customer preferences. I hope that I’ve covered as many of the bases as I could by recommending a wide spread of different products and have helped you find your best mulches for flower beds.
Final Verdict
Overall, I’ve rated MIGHTY109 Espresso Brown Wood Chip Mulch as the very best of the best mulches for flower beds. It’s a simple and natural product that can do an excellent job of preventing weed growth, boosting soil temperatures, and helping your soil retain moisture—in other words, all three of the essential jobs a good mulch has to perform. And, its attractive natural color will ensure that your flower beds look amazing.
FAQs
What is the best mulch to stop weeds?
No mulch is going to be able to totally stop weed growth, but mulches made from inorganic materials are usually the best at making them less common. That’s because they provide a strong barrier to weed growth, and they also don’t have any of the nutrients that can help weeds grow.
Using a plant food or fertilizer that contains a herbicide can also help you control weeds. The same is true of testing your soil for ph levels to see whether your soil conditions are giving weeds an advantage over the plants you want to grow.
What is the best color mulch for flower beds?
There’s no best color for mulch for flower beds, since mulches with the same color can be made from very different materials and vice-versa. You should first decide which type of mulch you want to use, then look for mulch in that type that has the color you’re looking for. And, if you don’t have too much of a preference, a natural-looking wood color is always a good bet!
