Pine Bark Mulch
The all-rounder, and the one that lasts.
Pine Bark Mulch is shredded and screened pine bark, sold loose by the cubic metre. It decomposes more slowly than the composted mulches, so it is the one to use where you would rather not be back with another load in six months. It also lowers soil pH, which matters more in Perth than most places.
Or call the yard on (08) 9434 2290
Real stock, not a swatch. Blended products vary a little batch to batch, so treat these as a guide rather than an exact colour match.
Pine Bark Mulch details
Pine Bark Mulch at a glance
- Product type
- Shredded and screened bark mulch
- Breaks down
- Slowly — the longest-lasting organic mulch we stock
- Effect on pH
- Lowers it, over time
- Best for
- Shrub beds, verges, acid-loving plants
- Sold as
- Loose by the cubic metre, bulka bag, trailer load
- Also available
- Bagged, for small jobs
What Pine Bark Mulch suits
What can you use Pine Bark Mulch for?
Shrub beds and established plantings
Beds that are planted and finished, where you want the mulch to sit there doing its job rather than needing attention. This is the one that lasts.
Acid-loving plants
Azaleas, camellias, blueberries and gardenias all want soil on the acid side. Pine bark lowers pH as it weathers, so the mulch is doing part of the job of a soil treatment.
Verges and front gardens
It looks tidy, it holds its colour reasonably, and it does not need topping up every season. On a verge that nobody wants to maintain, longevity is the whole specification.
Slopes and anywhere water runs
Shredded bark knits together enough to stay put where a loose chip washes to the bottom of the slope in the first big storm.
How much Pine Bark Mulch
How much Pine Bark Mulch do you need?
Length by width by depth, all in metres, gives you cubic metres. For a bed 4m by 1.2m filled to 75mm, that is 4 × 1.2 × 0.075 = 0.36 m³.
It is an estimate. Uneven ground and how firmly the mix settles both change what you actually use, so round up rather than down. We have not published a recommended depth for this product — describe the bed at the counter and someone who works with it every day will tell you.
Whatever you work out here lands in the enquiry form below, already written down.
That is about one trailer load. Order a touch over rather than under — a second trip costs more than the extra scoop.
Pine Bark Mulch in Perth
Why pine bark suits Perth beds
Perth soils run alkaline, particularly anywhere near the limestone. That is why azaleas, camellias, gardenias and blueberries so often sulk here — they are acid-loving plants sitting in ground that is working against them.
Pine bark lowers pH as it weathers. It is not a substitute for treating the soil, but a bed mulched with bark year after year drifts in the right direction rather than the wrong one, which is a slow advantage worth having.
The longevity matters here too. A mulch that breaks down in three months leaves bare sand exposed through the worst of a Perth summer, and bare sand is where the water repellence starts.
Why Pine Bark Mulch
Why choose Pine Bark Mulch?
It lasts, so you buy it less often
Bark decomposes far more slowly than straw or compost mulches. Cost per year rather than cost per load is the honest way to compare it, and on that measure it usually wins.
A dense weed barrier
The shredded texture packs into a layer that blocks light to whatever is trying to germinate, which is how a mulch suppresses weeds without a herbicide.
It lowers pH for the plants that want that
A real, specific advantage rather than a general benefit. Perth soils tend alkaline, and acid-loving plants here are usually fighting the ground they are in.
It looks like a finished bed
Natural colour, consistent screened size. It suits a formal bed and a casual one, which is why it is the default choice for landscapers who do not want to think about it.
Getting Pine Bark Mulch home
How to get Pine Bark Mulch
Collect from the yard
Open seven days at 222 Barrington St, Bibra Lake. The loader puts it straight into your trailer or ute, and someone will tell you whether what you have brought will carry the load.
Borrow one of our trailers free for two hours to get your load home. No charge, no bond.
Have it delivered
Across Perth's southern suburbs, seven days. For a quote we need the address, how much you need, and anything awkward about access — tight driveways, low branches and side access all change which truck we send. Confirm the current cost when you order.
Formats
- Loose, by the cubic metre
- Bulka bag, roughly a cubic metre each
- Trailer load, including our free two hour trailer
- Bagged, for small jobs
Using Pine Bark Mulch
How to use Pine Bark Mulch
Work out the volume first
Length by width by depth, all in metres, gives you cubic metres. The calculator further down does it. Round up — a second trip costs more than the extra scoop.
Weed and water before you cover
Mulch stops seed germinating, it does not kill what is already growing. Pull the weeds and water the bed through, because a mulch laid over dry Perth sand keeps it dry.
Spread it 50 to 75mm deep
That is the depth that suppresses weeds. Thinner and light gets through to the seed; much thicker and you are paying for volume that is doing nothing.
Keep it off the trunks
Leave a clear ring around the base of every plant. Bark piled against a trunk holds moisture there and invites collar rot, and it is the single most common mulching mistake.
When to choose something else
When it is the wrong product
- It does not feed the garden. Bark breaks down slowly, which is the point of it, but that also means it contributes very little nutrient — feed the bed underneath before you mulch, or top-dress later.
- It lowers soil pH over time. That is an advantage for azaleas and blueberries and a drawback anywhere you did not want it, so it is worth thinking about before you mulch a whole garden with it.
- Woody mulches can draw nitrogen from the soil surface as they break down. It is a smaller effect with bark than with fresh chips, but if a bed looks hungry after mulching, that is usually what happened.
- It is not a decorative coloured mulch. If the brief is a dark or red finish that holds its colour through a Perth summer, the colour-injected mulches are the ones for that.
Customer reviews
What people say
Pine Bark Mulch questions
Pine Bark Mulch FAQs
Goes with Pine Bark Mulch
Other products you may need
The other long-lasting mulches
For beds and verges you would rather not touch for a few years.
If the finish is the point
Colour-injected mulches, made to hold their colour through a Perth summer.
Feed the bed underneath
Bark covers soil, it does not build it. These go in before the mulch does.
Guides for pine bark mulch
Planning your project
GardenPine Bark: Eco-Friendly MulchBibra Lake Soils6 September 2022 · 6 min read
GardenGarden Mulching 101: What You Need to KnowBibra Lake Soils28 April 2022 · 6 min read
SoilBest Mulch to Stop WeedsBibra Lake Soils20 September 2024 · 4 min read
SoilMulching Trees You've Planted in Perth's Sandy SoilBibra Lake Soils4 December 2019 · 4 min read
Pine Bark Mulch quote
Need Pine Bark Mulch for your project?
Send us the quantity you need, your suburb, and whether you would like to collect it or have it delivered. If you are not sure how much, put your measurements into the calculator above and we will check it for you.
Or ring the yard on (08) 9434 2290
222 Barrington St, Bibra Lake WA 6163 · Open 7 days
Use the calculator above and the amount lands in the message for you.