ArcaMax

As you’re prepping your garden for its winter slumber, you might want to add an unexpected to-do to your fall gardening checklist: mulching.

While garden mulching is often associated with spring cleanup and fresh plantings, it’s just as important to apply mulch in the fall.

Mulch helps protect tender roots and plants from frost

Consider fall mulching like tucking your garden in for its winter slumber—and helping ensure that the roots of any new fall plantings you just put down are protected from temperature extremes. “One of the best reasons for mulch is to protect the root ball through dormancy,” says Tamara Hogan, plant expert at Fast Growing Trees.

Mulch reduces the need for watering

Just like your spring and summer mulching helped keep moisture in the soil, your fall and winter mulch accomplishes the same task.

Mulch can help reduce soil erosion

Rain, wind, and winter storms can shift all the topsoil away from your garden, which can deprive your plants of nutrient-rich soil. A good layer of mulch can help buffer the effects of winter storms and keep your soil where it belongs.

Mulch feeds your plants over the winter

If you use a natural mulch that can decompose into the soil, such as straw, shredded leaves, pine needles, wood chips, and bark, it will gradually release nutrients into the soil that’ll help feed your plants all year long.

Mulch gives your garden a polished look over the winter

“Mulching in the fall is a great way to add some polish to the landscape beds that may have dormant spots from perennial plants,” says Cate Singleton, director of design at Bower & Branch.

Fall mulching provides shelter for wildlife

Insects that overwinter in organic materials, including butterflies and moths, some bee species, and fireflies, will appreciate the cozy shelter your mulch provides.

Tips for fall mulching

Here’s what you should do to ensure your garden mulch is on point.

(Real Simple magazine provides smart, realistic solutions to everyday challenges. Online at www.realsimple.com.)

©2025 Dotdash Meredith. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.