Best winter mulch .... any advise ?

Hi all

While the West Coast seems to have been spurred the snow over the weekend,
I'm just wondering what are the best ways to make a winter bed mulch.

I've never mulched the ground before (but then I've never really taken any interest in the garden till the last 18months or so),
I understand its the best protection for young not-yet-fully-established shrubs and trees, but what are the best forms of mulch ??

I'm most interested in protecting my new plum tree, cherry tree, an Acer and several new rhododendron.

Any advise is much appreciated

 

I use the used bedding from the hen house-a mixture of their droppings and hemcore (dried hemp) which I allow to break down for a month or so and mix with cheap compost.

Admittedly, not everyone keeps chickens (even though they should:D)

 

The rhododendrens would benefit from swept up leaves under them to be honest, but I know that can be a touch daft in this windy weather. You could do worse than a couple of bags of multipurpose compost or chipped bark, although the compost is better.

 

I use leaves, thickly piled, topped with compost, used potting soil, or crumbles of garden soil, just to weight them down a bit. When they get throughly wet they do not fly off so easily.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I didn't realise something as simple as leaves and compost would be adequate.
I've only just swept all my leaves up and bagged them ready to bin and emptied all the compost from my tied old plant tubs ready for the 'brown bin collection'
...... so maybe tonight (or the weekend) I'll burst the leaf bags back open and put them around the tree and shrub bases and sift the old compost to use as some weight.
Thanks again for the help and I suppose good timing that I've only just tidied the leaves and old compost up


John

 

My local garden centre was selling large jute bags for 50p so have been putting leaves in sack to make leave mold.

Sack in nice and dry in my greenhouse.

And yes JonnyG something as simple as leaves and compost a bonus re credit crunch.

We all trying to find ways to save etc .

 

I have a chipping machine and use my cuttings to sprinkle over borders etc.