Is is good to mulch Arctostaphylos uva-ursi? If so, would an aged bark be best or a mulch that contains manure? How deep should the mulch be?
Native Plants in the Coastal Garden (by April Pettinger, 2002, p. 27), says the following about mulching Pacific Northwest native plants:
“…When an established native plant garden requires maintenance, it is usually minimal: mulching is probably the most important—and often the only—maintenance required. In any garden, mulching is arguably the most beneficial care you can give your soil and your plants. There are many advantages to using mulch. It suppresses weeds, conserves moisture by minimizing evaporation, and releases nutrients to the soil…Good mulch materials are compost, decaying leaves, well-rotted manures, sea kelp, mushroom compost, seedless hay or straw, shredded prunings, natural wood chips, grass clippings and evergreen needles and cones. Commercially available screened bark—usually referred to as bark mulch—has little to offer other than its ability to conserve water; it has no nutritional value and in fact depletes the nitrogen in the soil. When spreading mulch, don’t pile it too close to stems of plants. If you are using compost as mulch, spread it about 2 to 4 inches deep. Other materials may be applied to a depth of 3 to 7 inches…”