6 Reasons Why Fall Is the Best Time to Mulch, According to Experts

As you’re prepping your garden for its winter slumber (or even introducing new plants for a winter vegetable garden), you might want to add an unexpected to-do to your fall gardening checklist: mulching.

While garden mulching is often associated with spring cleanup and fresh plantings, it’s just as important to apply mulch in the fall. Learn all the reasons why a fresh layer of mulch is key for a healthy garden next year, plus tips on how to ensure your plants are properly protected this winter.

Mulch Helps Protect Tender Roots and Plants from Frost

Consider fall mulching like tucking your garden in for its winter slumber—and helping ensure that the roots of any new fall plantings you just put down are protected from temperature extremes as the plants acclimate to their new surroundings. “One of the best reasons for mulch is to protect the root ball through dormancy,” Hogan says. “For younger plants, it is recommended to do this during colder months.”

Mulch Reduces the Need for Watering

Just like your spring and summer mulching helped keep moisture in the soil, your fall and winter mulch accomplishes the same task. “Mulching helps to keep the moisture around the root ball so we can space out the watering days during those slower times of plant growth,” Hogan says.

Mulch Can Help Reduce Soil Erosion

Rain, wind, and winter storms can shift all the topsoil away from your garden, which can deprive your plants of nutrient-rich soil. A good layer of mulch can help buffer the effects of winter storms and keep your soil where it belongs.

Mulch Feeds Your Plants Over the Winter

If you use a natural mulch that can decompose into the soil, such as straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, or wood chips and bark, it will gradually release nutrients into the soil that’ll help feed your plants all year long.

Mulch Gives Your Garden a Polished Look Over the Winter

Gardens can look pretty spare and messy in the fall and winter, as plants are pruned back and bare branches and dead leaves may be part of the landscape. A layer of mulch will keep you covered and add curb appeal. “Mulching in the fall is a great way to add some polish to the landscape beds that may have dormant spots from perennial plants,” Singleton says.

Fall Mulching Provides Shelter for Wildlife

Insects that overwinter in organic materials, including butterflies and moths, some bee species, and fireflies, will appreciate the cozy shelter your mulch provides.

Tips for Fall Mulching

Your fall mulching tasks will be very similar to your spring mulching, with a heavier focus this time on ensuring your newest plants are well-covered. Here’s what you should do to ensure your garden mulch is on point.

Focus on the newest plants first.

“You can mulch the rest of the garden but the most productive mulching will be around young plants,” Hogan says.

Weed and prune before you apply mulch.

That protective mulch can also keep your weed roots healthy and strong—not exactly what you want for next spring when you’re doing your pre-season clean up. “Pruning prior to laying a new layer of mulch will give the best manicured appearance,” Singleton says.

Use wood-based or other organic mulches.

Hogan recommends using mulches like pine straw, wood chips, or other organic materials, which can decompose and add nutrients to the soil, among other benefits. “These mulches … allow for air flow and water movement throughout the mulch. Synthetic mulches or rocks don’t really allow for this and remove the benefits of mulching.”

Keep mulch away from plant stems and tree trunks.

You want to keep mulch at least three inches from the base of your tree trunks, and also away from the stems of plants, Hogan says. “If the mulch creeps up the base of your trees, it can cover up the root flare, which is very important for communication throughout the tree. If it gets covered up, it can stress the tree and sometimes choke it out.”

Ensure that you mulch deep enough.

You should have two to three inches of mulch on your garden to help your garden reap the benefits. You’ll want to measure the depth of the mulch currently on your garden, as you may only need to apply another inch if you still have mulch coverage from your spring application.