Can I mulch with pine needles?

Question

I have lots of pachysandra that's fighting with dandelions and other weeds. I remove the weeds but they come back. I'm thinking of using a chemical (round up) on the weeds and then mulching. Problems is, it would require a lot of mulch and I'm kinda broke. I have two large long needle pine trees and many, many pine needles. Do you think I can just use needles as mulch? The pachysandra is around a huge poplar tree, BTW, so the leaves will come down on it. Not sure if I'll accomplish anything with needles anyway. What do you think? I live in Maryland.

I've already invested $40 in round-up concentrate. The area in question is about 2000 sq. feet, so I would need to spend hundreads of dollars on real mulch. Pachysandra does like acid, so I guess I'll go with pine needles (I actually have enough of those to cover 2000 sq ft. Maybe I should start selling it, he :) ?).

Answer 1

GirlFriend,
Martha probably pays good money for those pine needles! I know that it is sold as mulch, if you can get it! It's not cheap.

Go ahead & shoot that round-up if the temps at 70 degrees I think (check bottle). You said your strapped for cash & Round Ups not cheap. It will only work to full effect at certain temps & dry! conditions for application.

If you've got enough of those needle to make a 3-4 inch depth over it. You Go girl!

Answer 2

Here in East Texas we have pine trees and pine needles everywhere. People use pine needles all the time for mulch. The local rose garden (Tyler used to be a big rose growing area) uses them all the time on their rose beds.

They are acid so should be avoided for plants that need a very alkali soil.

They are a little slow to decompose but that is what you want when you mulch.

I'd check with a local nursery about pachysandra's soil conditions.

Answer 3

No! Do not mulch with pine needles or pine bark. It will kill your plants. Most plants do not like acidic soil and pine increases acidity; that's why nothing grows under Pine trees. So only put down pine needles in areas where you wish to kill the vegetation. Depending on what you're mulching cedar bark works well. Don't put mulch down over freshly planted seeds. Also keep Mulch away from the base of plants it can cause them to rot.

Answer 4

Pine needles are fantastic for Rhodendrons which require acidic soil as you say your plants do

So
No Bucks
Tons of Pine Needles
Spray with Roundup THEN

This is a no brainer PINE NEEDLES
If someone dont like it they can pay for a so called proper mulch

Re Pregnin s answer Dandelions are NOT annuals but prennials with a large tap root and you need roundup to kill it down to the root
As to roundup being expensive here in NZ i buy 20lt of concentrate for NZD$150 , that $7.50 per litre and you only use 10mls per litre of water, you do the arithmatic

Answer 5

Pine needles might work but they would probably blow away and they are are not very strong. I would use regular mulch. A bag usually cost 2-3$. Try using the pine needles for now, and a few bags of mulch. Use more mulch when you can afford it.

Answer 6

I love pine needles for mulch. I especially like it on slopes because it clings to the slope. It holds in moisture and does a great job.

Try not to put it too close to your house. It is a fire problem until it decomposes.

You can add other mulch along with the pine needles, like bark and grass clippings, leaves, compost, etc.

Much luck to you.

Answer 7

I would think pine needles would work fine. People round here use them all the time. I prefer Season Long weed killer to Round up. I use it religiously. I also lay thick layers of newspaper under any mulch that I lay down. I learned that from Paul James.It has always worked great for me as weed control. I've used wees paper and the newspaper has worked for me as well as the weed paper. They both will start to fail after a couple years or so. The key is to lay the paper really thick and weave it well. Good luck.

Answer 8

Pine needles are a great mulch that many people all over use. Go for it. But I have to say that Round is a grass killer, and it's so good for killing broadleaf weeds like dandelions, something like 2-4D would do better. Go to your local lawn and garden store (not Home Depo) and see what they have to say.

Answer 9

As was mentioned, pine needles would be a great mulch providing you use it around acid-loving plants (like azealias, tomatoes, etc.). Not sure if the pachy likes an acidic soil or not. You could check with a local garden supply store.

Answer 10

has more to do with how the akaline/acidity levels change with the type of mulch you use. Pachy is pretty durable little plant - give pine needles a try in one area and use grass clippings in another area etc. ------- experiment ------- that is the divine right of every true gardener !!!!

I always learn from my mistakes and am thankful for what I stumbled upon that does work. Happy gardening.