River Rock Vs Mulch

Pros and cons of organic mulch pros.

River rock vs mulch.

The cost of mulch versus river rock is significant river rock being up to 3x more expensive than mulch. Read on to learn the pros and cons of mulching with an organic mulch or an inorganic mulch like rocks. Unlike mulch you never have to replace river rock. Once it is positioned and placed it s perfectly situated for all of time.

Any type of decorative gravel can be used as groundcover including lava rock quartz granite pea gravel and river rock. But while the upfront cost difference is apparent it s important to remember that even though mulch is much more affordable initially it will need to be freshened up regularly meaning you ll invest just as much over a few years. Mulch which is better in flower beds and around trees. Rock is more expensive than bark mulch.

If sustainability is your top concern consider using river rock on your property. Mulch is the cheapest of the three material options. Lesser prevention of weed germination. Landscaping rock commonly referred to as river rock decorative gravel stone mulch or landscaping rock.

I had seen some river rock flower beds online and thought they looked nice. River rock is considerably more expensive than organic mulches such as shredded bark wood chips or compost. But remember it doesn t break down and disappear into the soil like bark mulch does. Benefits of rock mulch.

Harder to spring clean up beds. Rock mulch is more expensive than wood mulch. It s the most sustainable of the three and is not likely not to be displaced by rain. One of the changes we made was to replace all the mulch around the patio with river rocks and possibly all the flower beds with rocks instead of mulch.

Long lasting never needs replaced. Since there is no replacement requirement river rock might cost more upfront but will not come with reoccurring annual costs. Lower cost over time rock mulch is a one time expense. My step brother and i put in the landscaping with rocks instead of mulch last fall and it s been working well for us.

It sells for about 4 to 5 per bag at a big box store but keep in mind that bags of rock mulch only contain about 0 5 cubic feet of material four times less than a bag of wood mulch. Therefore it ends up a much cheaper option in the long run. Mulch can nearly double how fast trees and plants grow according to this study. The price of rock mulch varies depending on the type and size but generally costs two to three times more than an application of mulch.

Not ideal for really wet areas. This landscaping gravel can be anywhere from the size of a pea up to golf ball size. I knew from experience in our past house that flower bed rocks would keep stay much better than mulch so we decided to go for it. The rock can help slow down water from eroding parts of the landscape.

You don t need to replace it every year.