During the Florida heavy rains and strong winds, some types of mulch have a hard time staying put. After a strong Florida storm you could find your mulch scattered 25 feet out into the yard! When that happens, mowing becomes difficult and dangerous, your sidewalks and driveways look messy, and your planting beds soon sprout weeds because the mulch has been disbursed.
After putting all that work into spreading mulch in your garden, the last thing you want to do is spend time raking it back in after every rainstorm! Here are some tips for keeping mulch in your planting beds where it belongs.
If your garden is on a slope or has a tendency to wash out, avoid putting landscape fabric or plastic sheeting underneath your mulch. These create a nice slick surface for the mulch to slide right out of the bed. Instead, to keep weeds at bay, apply multiple thin layers of mulch, watering each layer to help pack it down.
The only way to keep mulch completely in the flower bed or garden is to edge it with something high enough to hold in the mulch in place during a storm. Some ideas include: Wood, metal, plastic or stone edging can help keep mulch in its place. Make sure the edging is several inches high.
If you have water coming down off of your roof this also may cause sever washout during a heavy rain storm. Gutters and eves are essential in the Tampa Bay area. At the end of your down spout you could use numerous solutions to prevent washout. Landscape design options like landscape rock with tiling underneath or gutter down spout Splash you can find at hardware and home stores. Another solution would be to use a rain barrel or install rain gardens. Keep in mind that redirecting Runoff with swales, French drains, catch basins, downspout extensions are all great solutions to prevent a washout in the landscape.