Mulch for Rock Gardens

by Robert
(Rockland Ontario Canada)

1) I am putting in a rock garden on a slope in my yard. Can I use Cedar mulch to stop erosion while the plants have time to grow??

2) Where do you put the biggest rock? the bottom or on top of the slope?

3) Is it better to set individual rocks on the slope or group them for a better effect?

Thanks

Doug says that cedar mulch doesn't belong in the rock garden because it will hold moisture around the crowns of alpine plants. This is generally pretty bad news if you're an alpine plant because it leads to rotting.

Pea gravel works really well - keeps the moisture away from the crowns but shades out the soil. And it looks good in a rock garden.

Placement of rocks - it's a design thing. Rocks go where they best fit - think how a mountain looks. All the big ones aren't at the top or bottom but randomly placed as they fell off the sides.

Big rocks are the key to a good looking rock garden. Little dinky rocks look silly no matter where you put them. Big is better.

Grouping rocks - again, think of nature. There are rock gardens (screes) that are a jumble of rocks all tossed together. And there are mountain meadows with very few visible rocks. It's in how you want your alpine/rock garden to look.

Good luck with it.