Mulch pile is located at the City Operations/Forestry lot. You will see the sign for the city mulch pile when driving east on Pearl Parkway between 49th and 55th St. Bring your own shovel and your own bags or containers for loading and transporting mulch.
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI): Organic arbor chip mulch (1 ½” max particle size) that is provided at the City Free Mulch Pile is allowed in all Ignition Risk Areas but prohibited in the Noncombustible Zone (0-5 feet around building and structures within the WUI). More information regarding mulch in the WUI can be found in the Wildfire Resilient Landscape Guide and the City of Boulder Landscape Manual.
Mulch Benefits and Tips
Maintain wood mulch around the base of the tree throughout its lifetime to increase growth and optimize tree benefits. Mulch plays an important role in regulating soil temperature, maintaining soil moisture, and serves as a barrier to potential damage from string trimmers and mowers.
- Keep a 3 to 4 inch depth of mulch around the tree.
- Mulch a 3 to 4 foot radius. Tree rings around evergreen should extend to the tree’s dripline. Expanding the mulch ring to the dripline will also benefit any tree.
- Be sure not to pile mulch up around the trunk of the tree, pulling mulch back 1-2 inches from trunk
- Do not place sod or plant grass at the base of your tree. Turf grass competes with the tree for water and nutrients.