How much black mulch do you need?
Enter the size of the bed you want dark against the green. You get cubic yards, tons and truck loads of black mulch.
You need about
0 cubic yards
0tons
Add your truck size to see loads
for this job
How this was worked out
Assumes black mulch at 0.4 tons per cubic yard. Mulch weighs more when it is fresh or wet, so ask your supplier for their number.
-
About black mulch
Black mulch is ground wood dyed a deep black, sold as one of the colors of dyed mulch. It makes green leaves and bright flowers stand out against the bed. It weighs the same as the other dyed colors.
Also called dyed mulch, brown mulch, red mulch.
More about black mulch
Most black mulch gets its color from carbon, the same pigment used in ink, sprayed on as the wood comes out of the grinder. Some yards dye shredded hardwood and some dye recycled wood, so ask which you are buying. Wood from pallets should be screened for nails and painted scraps before it is colored.
Black soaks up sun, so the top of the layer runs hot in summer. Keep it a few inches away from the stems of tender annuals and young transplants. Spread 2 to 3 inches, water it in on the first day, and expect the black to turn charcoal gray after a summer in full sun.
Topping up with about an inch a year keeps the color deep. Fresh black mulch can mark hands, a white fence or a pale driveway while it is wet, so spread it on a dry day and sweep up what spills. Loads stored outside pick up rain, and a damp one weighs more than the 0.4 tons a yard used here.