self seeders and deep mulch

[canesisters]

Got a question. This Summer, several people have given me plants that are 'self-seeders'. They've done ok so far through this HEAT but I'm wondering about their seeds. The places they're planted have deep mulch (some wood, some leaves).
How will the seeds get to the dirt to start over next year??? Do I have to go clear around them?? Won't that just make grass and weeds pop up instead???

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Pretty much. Self-seeders and deep mulch are a difficult combination unless they are one of those plants that laugh at mulch in which case they'll be a danged nuisance.

 

[SweetSilver]

No, you don't need to. Self-sowers over-winter and germinate in the spring. By that time, much of your mulch underneath the top layer will have turned into soil, and the seed's roots will be able to reach it. Self-sowers will germinate even in mulch. If they germinate and then die, well then, the mulch is too deep. I have never, ever had this happen in our home garden, but that depends on the mulch. Pure bark can be pretty slow to convert to soil, tree chips (the kind the line clearers produce, mixed with leaves, etc.) are actually pretty fast.

The mulch will affect the seeds that were already sown before you mulched. "Deep" mulch is relative. I think 8" or more is a deep mulch-- I like using it a lot and have transformed battered gardens by digging them up and laying down 2 feet of tree chips and letting them settle. Most people think 3" is deep. That much is not going to affect your self-sowers too much, and the seeds that will be dropped this year on top of the mulch won't be affected at all.