9-Inch NEEDLES, An Insiders's Guide to Pine Straw

So why do CrabappleLandscapExperts use pine straw mulch in many of the landscapes under our care? 

Advantages of Pine Straw Mulch:

- quick, simple, easy, clean

- local, sustainable, renewable

- visually appealing, uniform color

- fine texture sets off the landscape

- lightweight, pest free

- controls erosion and great for slopes

- doesn’t float away

- breaks down slowly

- economical; cost per square foot is lower than other mulches

- doesn’t compact

- - can be used in flower beds or on garden paths

- great for nests

Georgia’s towering Loblolly and Slash Pines are an important component of native southeastern forests and landscapes, and their evergreen needles create a soft billowing effect. Quick maturing, their wood is grown as a 20-year crop for timber and pulp manufacture. Their needle leaves, called pine straw, is another important sustainable, local, renewable resource from pines. 

1. In order to tell the different pines apart, first look at their overall silhouette. 
2.     Next, observe their needles up close. They come in different lengths and, depending on the variety, in 2- 3- or 5-needle bundles called fascicles. Instead of turning red and falling off every autumn like deciduous oaks and maples, the average bundle of needles lives two years, and this staggered life cycle is what makes them ever-green.  

When they finally do get around to falling, often times in the fall, Pine Needles turn a lovely light cinnamon color, are raked up from the forest floor, baled and sold as a mulch with many advantages. Pine straw is readily available as mulch in the metro-Atlanta area, and Crabapple LandscapExperts recommend spreading pine straw as mulch when a very fine texture is called for in a landscape design.

CrabappleLandscapExperts’ long list of satisfied customers includes homeowners’ associations, apartment communities, office sites, government agencies, commercial facilities, retail centers, schools and universities, and private homeowners. Call your Crabapple Rep now to get the landscape in shape for the upcoming three months of holidays.