compost is what I use...

Do you have room to start a compost pile?

I would personally use the pine needles after they have been composted a bit over mulches. I do use a mulch in my front border becuase it is a bit dressier... however, I got that for free as well, from work crews cutting down trees on the side of the road, they created massive piles, I kept bring my little station wagon back and grabbing it. The more I fill in the bed though the less I would use them. Compost is really the way to go!

Silverkelt

This winter I have had a source for free horse manure compost so that's what I've been using. Before that I was going to use hardwood from a tree service company or a sawmill, because the hardwood decomposes pretty quickly into black soil, effectively improving your soil. I have used pine straw for its acidifying characteristic. It may not be much, but I was doing everything I could to lower the PH. I have used oak leaves from my trees, too, also acidifying. I would not use bark.

Sherry

I like to use coffee grounds, shredded leaves, pine needles, composted horse manure - I've even been known to go scrape off the decayed grass and leaves in the street in front of houses on my street and haul it home to my gardens.

I filch grass clippings bagged in the neighborhood, am a regular at the Starbucks for their free used grounds. I've ground up old bananas and peelings in a blender and poured it on the base of plants. Alfalfa sludge from alfalfa tea or just the pellets or meal.

The roses are thriving, and I think it's from the attention paid to the soil.

Silverkelt & Sherry, Thanks so much for the info. I like to put some kind of mulch to make the beds look prettier. It always gets decomposted leaves but I rake out the ones that haven't rotted yet to put down other mulch with it. Wasn't sure if roses might like needles better.
Thanks, Judy

Thanks Duchesse, I too have heard of the alfalfa tea and coffee grounds. I bet your roses love all of the attention your soil gets. I just wanted something to pretty up the ground around the bushes. Wondered which the roses would like better, hardwood mulch, needles or nuggets?
Thanks, Judy

Inexpensive mulches made from soft wood (cedar, cypress, etc) break down too quickly and don't stay good-looking.
Shredded hardwood is easy to spread and lasts well; like all mulches it is dyed so if you don't like the looks of it one place, go somewhere else. Buy enough to do all the beds at one time so it matches.
Pinebark mulch (also shredded) is also very attractive; our local rose society president's 1st choice.
Large bark: I use this on top of the mulch in the back of the bed against the house, to give me something to stand on when I'm deadheading. Also if stays put if rain beats off the roof edge.
Pinestraw is free if you go collect it curbside, but expensive if purchased in bales. If you feed organically, or are scratching in dolomite lime, alfalfa, epsom salts etc. during the season, I find it's harder to push aside & pull back and the bed looks untidy after I've fed.
In selecting mulch, color and texture are important. The additional consideration, and the one that makes bark impractical, is that you need to pick up and discard diseased leaves which drop around the base of the plant. A shrub rake or even a hand rake makes this job easier.

ALL the organics mentioned above can be tucked under the mulch and you'll have lots of glorious worms!

I prefer using compost for mulch, in flat areas where erosion won't be an issue.
For the sloped areas, and I have lots of them, I've reverted back to using hardwood mulch.
I used to use pine needles, and loved it, but it is not plentiful in the Dallas area. If you drive 90 miles east of here (into the piney woods of East Texas), it's plentiful.

Randy

I want to thank all of you for your info. I guess I will just use what I can find that looks the best. Some of the nuggets around here just didn't look real pretty last year. Would open the bags and they looked older than what I already had. So I caried those babies back to Wally World. Duchesse your flower bed was so pretty and no you weren't long winded. Everyone thanks again for all your help. Judy

I have heard that Cedar mulch is very bad for roses. A chemical reaction thing. Wish I had written down exactly what it was...

Pine bark mulch nuggets can mold in certain weather conditions.

Roses love composted manure. I mix it with mills magic rose alfalfa + mixture 40/60 ratio and spread it around the entire bed. I constantly replace the compost when I see bare dirt...

Here is a link that might be useful: Mills Magic

I have never heard of cedar being very bad for roses, I have been using cedar mulch for two + years now. So far, I have not seen any damage yet.

I've been using cedar mulch for 10 years, no adverse issues that I've seen.

Let me ask you about compost as mulch. It has been bagging me for year but never dared to ask. I use mulch partly to conserve moisture when it needed like last summer, and dress up the bed, so to speak. Further reason is to suppress weeds since weeds are a constant battle and a continuous gardening chore. I would imagine that compost being very good and rich soil would promote weeds instead of suppressing them. So when I use compost to rejuvenate the soil, I use mulch, cypress, cedar or hardwood lately to cover the compost and not to provide an ideal environment for weeds to germinate or get hold.

So, if I am mistaken, where and how I make a mistake in my assumption? As I see it, it is easier to pick them up from a cedar, cypress, and pine bark or hardwood mulch as to get rid of them if they grow in a good soil/compost.

How do you deal with weeds if you use good quality compost as mulch? Or, how do you avoid them?
IMHO weeds are not fussy, they grow id the soil is dry and they grow if the soil is wet.
With a severe arthritis and spinal problems weeding is one of the problems I try to minimize instead of promoting.

Decobug, msjam, and diane, Thanks for the info. I guess as long as I mulch with something the roses will appreciate it. It does help keep moisture in, weeds out and pretties up the bed. Judy
Ceterum, I will let the the ones on here that do compost answer all your questions since I don't have a compost pile. Good luck. Judy

The best one is what's available locally, looks good and is a reasonable price. When my sister lived in NJ, she used spent liquorice root from a candy factory. it looked great (nice dark color) and did an excellent job. I've used crushed sugar cane (too light colored), shredded cedar bark (my favorite so far), pine bark nuggets, shredded pine bark - I don't much like the shredded dyed hardwood and think it looks too artificial, but that's just my take.

With regard to the cedar mulch, I think what she's referring to is "sour mulch". I'm told that the problems arise during the manufacturing and storing processes because the mulch doesn't get enough oxygen and develops pockets of acid. Its recommended that you smell your cedar mulch before laying it down. If it's smells like wood or compost, it's fine. But if it smells like ammonia, sulfur, alcohol or vinegar, it's bad and you shouldn't use it.

I just got a battery operated lawn mower to touch up parts of my yard - it came with a grass catcher. On occasion, I would put grass clippings as mulch. Now I have a good source for them. Are grass clippings good mulch for rose beds when you put things like good soil or horse manure compost over them? I would think they would be fairly quick to compost and be good for the soil, but dont want to put too much of them on as a secondary mulch if they arent. I would use another kind of bagged mulch on top of them........thanks for any thoughts on this.

Judith

I have always used pine straw for my roses. Grandma said they love the acid that the needles give out

Hi, I use a combination of enriched soil/mulches mixed as I sm loooking mainly to enrich soil. some use ”bark to hold moisture & weeds down.” I just want to enrich soil to groe roses & flowers

In fall I use Miracle Gro Garden Soil which is mainly bark & little soil, but I use it to mound my roses-keep them warm for winter. I buy a ton of it and it gives me good soil in spring after the snow-slightly broken the bark down.

However, in spring I mix soil with cow manure & Miracle Gro Raised bedding soil. I dont have raised beds but I like the ”finer raised bed soil,” as it really does well growing my roses-it looks more like finely ground dry soil than ’Miracle Gro Garden Soil.

My soil is now so rich for growing roses I will bring in less new soil/manure this spring.

This is an interesting discussion from 14 years ago.

The OP asked what mulch is ”better” for roses - which mulch ”roses would prefer”, but then she shifted focus to which mulch ”looks best”.

Which brings to mind https://youtu.be/ltj8C2SJv94

But the most valuable part of this discussion was the comment and question from Rose Forum member ceterum, whose profile shows no activity in over a decade. I hope he is well and still with us.

His question was never addressed in any subsequent comment.

Here is what he wrote wrote:

“Let me ask you about compost as mulch. It has been bagging me for year but never dared to ask. I use mulch partly to conserve moisture when it needed like last summer, and dress up the bed, so to speak. Further reason is to suppress weeds since weeds are a constant battle and a continuous gardening chore. I would imagine that compost being very good and rich soil would promote weeds instead of suppressing them. So when I use compost to rejuvenate the soil, I use mulch, cypress, cedar or hardwood lately to cover the compost and not to provide an ideal environment for weeds to germinate or get hold.

So, if I am mistaken, where and how I make a mistake in my assumption? As I see it, it is easier to pick them up from a cedar, cypress, and pine bark or hardwood mulch as to get rid of them if they grow in a good soil/compost.

How do you deal with weeds if you use good quality compost as mulch? Or, how do you avoid them?
IMHO weeds are not fussy, they grow id the soil is dry and they grow if the soil is wet.
With a severe arthritis and spinal problems weeding is one of the problems I try to minimize instead of promoting.”

In my yard, no weeds germinate wherever roses are mulched with pine straw. Where roses are “mulched“ with compost, weeds have no problem germinating and growing.

I agree with ceterum: compost does not fulfill all key meaningful criteria for mulch.