Bark mulch is often used in many gardens to cover beds to prevent unwanted growth and to retain moisture in the soil. Pine mulch has several advantages over mulch made from pine or spruce bark. In this guide we will explain what these are, how to use pine mulch correctly and which products are recommended.
Pine mulch keeps moisture in the bed and reduces weed growth
Our recommendations
our recommendation
Floragard Mulch pine bark 25-40 mm 60 L • coarse • decorative floor covering • suppresses weed growth • natural • for Mediterranean flair
19.97 EUR To the product| material | unmixed, pure pine bark |
|---|---|
| structure | rough |
| grit | 25 to 40 millimeters |
| crowd | 60 liters |
| Enough for | about 6 square meters |
| Price/litre | about {PRICE/60} EUR |
The Floragard pine bark mulch (€239.00) is a single-variety, natural floor covering that is suitable for use in the garden bed as well as for the terrarium. This variety has a coarse grain, but the manufacturer offers other variants: medium (15 to 25 millimeters), fine (7 to 15 millimeters), super-fine (2 to 8 millimeters). Coarse pine mulch primarily has a decorative effect, it also keeps moisture in the soil and protects useful and ornamental plants from cold and frost. According to customer reports, the mulch reliably keeps weed growth away, provided it is not a vigorous herb. The product has a reddish color and is described as having a pleasant smell.
our recommendation
Euflor fine pine bark, brown
EUR 18.90 To the product| material | Sorted, natural pine bark |
|---|---|
| structure | fine |
| grit | 7 to 15 millimeters |
| crowd | 60 liters |
| Enough for | about 10 square meters |
| Price/litre | about {PRICE/60} EUR |
Euflor pine bark mulch is made from natural, single-origin pine bark. The manufacturer offers the product in different sievings: fine (7 to 15 millimeters), medium (15 to 25 millimeters) and coarse (20 to 40 millimeters). This product has a brown color and, in addition to its practical use, also has a decorative effect in beds and on paths.
our recommendation
Terra Discount Premium Pine 600 liters (10 x 60 liters) medium, grain size 8-15 mm, pine bark, pine bark, decorative flooring
159.00 EUR To the product| material | Sorted, natural pine bark |
|---|---|
| structure | medium |
| grit | 8 to 15 millimeters |
| crowd | 10 x 60 liters (total 600 liters) |
| Enough for | about 50 square meters |
| Price/litre | about {PRICE/600} EUR |
If you want to cover larger areas with pine mulch, you need - depending on the thickness of the layer - at least 10 bags of 60 liters each for 50 square meters. If the mulch layer is between three and five centimeters to reliably keep weeds away, even 15 bags make sense. With this natural and single-origin product, you can conveniently have the quantities required for your project delivered to your home. In addition to the medium grain size presented here, the manufacturer also offers fine-grained mulch with pieces up to five millimeters in size and coarse pine mulch with a grain size between 10 and 25 millimeters.
Purchase Criteria
material and ingredients
When buying, make sure that the packaging explicitly says "pine bark", ideally the product also has the RAL certificate. In this way you can be sure that you are actually buying pure pine bark without large amounts of needles, twigs or even stones. In fact, these admixtures cannot be completely avoided - after all, it is a natural product - but the RAL certificate proves that they are less than six percent. In addition, some products are not pure pine bark, but a mixture of different pine and pine bark. Wood chips in the mulch, on the other hand, are not a sign of poor quality, quite the opposite. As these decompose more slowly than the pieces of bark, such a product ultimately lasts longer.
grain and structure
Pine mulch is available in different gradings, each of which is particularly suitable for specific purposes.
Rough: Coarse pine mulch usually has a grain size between 20 and up to 60 millimeters, i. H. the pieces of bark are quite large and rather hard. These varieties have proven themselves less in the garden bed, but rather as a cover for paths and remain stable even under higher loads. You can also use this mulch in terrariums. On the other hand, this granulation is less suitable for keeping fast-growing weeds in beds away, but it can also be used here.
medium: On the other hand, pine bark mulch with a medium sieve of between 15 and 25 millimeters is a true all-round product that you can use practically anywhere in the garden. The use of these varieties is recommended both on beds and on paths, for the design of cozy seating areas or for areas near the bank of the garden pond.
Fine: The fine granulation with pieces of bark between 7 and 15 millimeters in size looks particularly elegant and is therefore preferred for areas near terraces, for plant bowls and other planters and in grave design. Some manufacturers also carry out a particularly fine screening with pieces of bark under 7 millimeters in size. Fine bark mulch also has the advantage that the mulch layer can be thinner than is necessary with coarser sieving.
crowd
As a rule, bark and thus also pine mulch should be spread over a large area in the garden. The mulch layer should ideally be between five and ten centimeters thick, which is why a large 60-liter sack is just enough for a few square meters. Conversely, this means that you need several 100 to 1000 liters of pine mulch for an area of 50 or even 100 square meters. The weight plays no role as a selection criterion.
cadmium content
An advantage of pine bark compared to other types of bark mulch is the significantly lower cadmium content. The heavy metal occurs in low concentrations in the soil, but dissolves more easily in acidic forest soil and is deposited in the tree bark. Thus, the cadmium content in some types of mulch is quite high and thus gets into the garden. However, a limit of 1.5 milligrams per kilogram of dry mulch has been in effect since 2014.
price
Pine mulch is available in different quality levels (single variety vs. mixtures) and grain sizes and therefore sometimes differs considerably in price. In principle, however, mulch made from pine bark is significantly more expensive than, for example, mulch made from pine bark: pine mulch costs around EUR 70 per cubic meter of area, while pine bark mulch costs up to EUR 300. However, pine mulch also lasts much longer and does not have to be refilled as often.
frequently asked Questions
What is pine mulch?
Pine mulch is obtained from the bark of the pine tree (Pinus pinea). The conifer species is also known as the Mediterranean or umbrella pine and is native to the northern Mediterranean region. Pines are heat-loving and drought-resistant, which is why they are optimally adapted to the living conditions prevailing in their homeland. The species belongs to the pine family, which is why the mulch made from the bark is more often found in small amounts in mixed mulch products or in pine mulch.
What are the advantages of pine mulch over other bark mulch?
Compared to commercially available bark mulch made from pine or spruce bark, pine mulch has a number of advantages: the natural product rots much more slowly and lasts around three times as long as conventional bark mulch. Since pine bark also has a lower acid content, it acidifies the soil less when it rots, thereby removing less nitrogen from it. In addition, pine bark is very decorative due to its beautiful red color.
Are there any disadvantages?
The lower acidity of pine mulch is not only an advantage, but also a disadvantage in terms of weed suppression. Therefore, pine bark makes less sense when it is primarily about preventing unwanted vegetation from growing. Furthermore, the product is manufactured in the Mediterranean countries, since pine is not native to us - the result is that pine mulch has to travel a very long way to our garden. This is not only noticeable in the price, but also in the poorer ecological balance.
What can you use pine mulch for?
Pine mulch is versatile and can basically be used for the same purposes as conventional bark mulch: as a ground cover in borders and beds, as a covering for paths, areas and seating areas, as a protective substrate on playgrounds, in planters and other planters, in terrariums. You can also use pine bark for your own mixed orchid or bromeliad substrate.
Which manufacturers offer high-quality pine mulch?
You can obtain high-quality pine mulch from renowned manufacturers such as Floragard, Euflor or Kuhlmann. Be careful with designations such as "pine decor", because it does not always mean pure pine bark. For this purpose, “pure pine bark” must be stated on the package as the content, otherwise it may be colored pieces of bark or wood of unknown origin.
equipment
rake
our recommendation
GARDENA combisystem Shovel Rake: Handy shovel rake for sweeping up and picking up leaves and garden waste, with robust plastic tines, working width 36.5 cm (3120-20)
19.79 EUR To the productIn order to distribute pine and other bark mulch effectively in the garden, you need a so-called shovel rake. With this 2-in-1 device, you can distribute the desired amount of mulch precisely.