Can I spare myself the effort?

[Than]

My garden is covered in wild grasses atm; mainly wild clove. It is about 10-15cm tall (4 - 6 inches) and it will stay so or get taller during winter. I am attaching a photo of my young Ravenala and my even younger Roystonea. 

I was wondering if those grasses are effective as mulching when it's cold or should I rather add proper mulching, like dry leaves and pine bark?

 

[Mazat]

35 minutes ago, Than said:

My garden is covered in wild grasses atm; mainly wild clove. It is about 10-15cm tall (4 - 6 inches) and it will stay so or get taller during winter. I am attaching a photo of my young Ravenala and my even younger Roystonea. 

I was wondering if those grasses are effective as mulching when it's cold or should I rather add proper mulching, like dry leaves and pine bark?

 

I cut the grass around the palm tree/exotic plant before the cold days arrive, about 50 cm away from the trunk so that no waterlogging can form around and on the trunk.

This way, I can protect them better and wrap them up without everything getting damp or rotting.

That's why we've also made wooden borders at the bottom, but not for all exotic plants.

We also have lots of small dogs here, which are cute and sweet, but of course they mark everything because their owners are too lazy to let them do their business 80 meters away on the large lawn...

It's just so far away 😁

[happypalms]

Actually those weeds are doing you a favour. They are creating a living carpet or a nice blanket for the ground. And in summer they will also help create humidity as a ground cover. Just because it’s a weed doesn’t mean you can’t use it to your advantage to establish other plants and by doing so creating a canopy and by then the weed will be absolute, not being able to grow in the understory. Create a canopy and you have no weeds!

[Than]

41 minutes ago, Mazat said:

I cut the grass around the palm tree/exotic plant before the cold days arrive, about 50 cm away from the trunk so that no waterlogging can form around and on the trunk.

How would the grass cause waterlogging?

 

37 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Actually those weeds are doing you a favour. They are creating a living carpet or a nice blanket for the ground. And in summer they will also help create humidity as a ground cover. Just because it’s a weed doesn’t mean you can’t use it to your advantage to establish other plants and by doing so creating a canopy and by then the weed will be absolute, not being able to grow in the understory. Create a canopy and you have no weeds!

Actually they die in the summer: too hot and dry. Question is: do they protect the soil and palm roots from cold temperatures, like mulching does?

[Mazat]

23 minutes ago, Than said:

How would the grass cause waterlogging?

 

Actually they die in the summer: too hot and dry. Question is: do they protect the soil and palm roots from cold temperatures, like mulching does?

My thought was that if the grass is wet and close to the trunk, and it continues to rain and at the same time it gets colder, the wet tufts of grass are too close to the trunk and it then becomes damp, which, combined with the cold, tends to damage the plant.

Also, if you put up a cover, everything gets damp.

Due to the colder air in winter, the humidity rises sharply without rain and the grass is damp or remains damp.

 

[Than]

40 minutes ago, Mazat said:

My thought was that if the grass is wet and close to the trunk, and it continues to rain and at the same time it gets colder, the wet tufts of grass are too close to the trunk and it then becomes damp, which, combined with the cold, tends to damage the plant.

Also, if you put up a cover, everything gets damp.

Due to the colder air in winter, the humidity rises sharply without rain and the grass is damp or remains damp.

 

won't mulch also be wet though?

[Mazat]

12 minutes ago, Than said:

won't mulch also be wet though?

Grass tends to be prone to mold growth, but we have always had good results with mulching using bark and tree leaves.

At the old location, I used grass, which resulted in mold growth.

[Harry’s Palms]

I use wood chips around my plants . It works well year round and really helps insulate during the hottest months . The plants love it and when it breaks down I just add more. Harry

‘This is during the winter after the rain. The water loving Archontophoenix Alexandrea needs moisture even in the top layer and the chips help keep it from drying out. This area gets very warm and dry in the summer and fall months. 

[Mazat]

51 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I use wood chips around my plants . It works well year round and really helps insulate during the hottest months . The plants love it and when it breaks down I just add more. Harry

‘This is during the winter after the rain. The water loving Archontophoenix Alexandrea needs moisture even in the top layer and the chips help keep it from drying out. This area gets very warm and dry in the summer and fall months. 

A beauty, Harry. Yes the chips are a good option.

[Silas_Sancona]

5 hours ago, Than said:

My garden is covered in wild grasses atm; mainly wild clove. It is about 10-15cm tall (4 - 6 inches) and it will stay so or get taller during winter. I am attaching a photo of my young Ravenala and my even younger Roystonea. 

I was wondering if those grasses are effective as mulching when it's cold or should I rather add proper mulching, like dry leaves and pine bark?

 

" Weed " in question looks like Bermuda buttercup ... Or another sp. of Oxalis Native there / aggressive  cool season colonizer in California.

Leaving it won't hurt the palms at all / will help keep the soil warmer. Won't effect how wet the soil stays either.

Bermuda buttercup returns from bulbs anyway so chopping it won't eliminate it.

Living mulch = far better than wood chips,  let alone dyed wood chips.

[Than]

20 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

" Weed " in question looks like Bermuda buttercup ... Or another sp. of Oxalis Native there / aggressive  cool season colonizer in California.

Leaving it won't hurt the palms at all / will help keep the soil warmer. Won't effect how wet the soil stays either.

Bermuda buttercup returns from bulbs anyway so chopping it won't eliminate it.

Living mulch = far better than wood chips,  let alone dyed wood chips.

That's what I thought too. I guess I'll try to combine both: I'll leave the oxalis grow freely but also add some mulch on it. Not enough to entirely cover it and kill it. 

[happypalms]

9 hours ago, Than said:

How would the grass cause waterlogging?

 

Actually they die in the summer: too hot and dry. Question is: do they protect the soil and palm roots from cold temperatures, like mulching does?

They would be better than bare earth, if you feel the need to just mulch over the weeds and it’s a win win situation! 

[Phoenikakias]

On 11/12/2025 at 1:52 PM, Than said:

How would the grass cause waterlogging?

 

Actually they die in the summer: too hot and dry. Question is: do they protect the soil and palm roots from cold temperatures, like mulching does?

Absolutely no. You need full sun exposure of the soil, so that it gets warmed up during winter. But again better consult your local agriculturist, who is more experienced on palms and other tropicals.

[Than]

39 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

Absolutely no. You need full sun exposure of the soil, so that it gets warmed up during winter. But again better consult your local agriculturist, who is more experienced on palms and other tropicals.

You don't mulch your palms in the winter?

[Phoenikakias]

No, what works on the other hand is black soil fabric.  During winter air is too moistened (garden is very close to sea) and average temperature quite low. A perfect combination for fungus on the stem and in the root zone. Besides a clay based soil warms up during following spring rather slowly which means a delayed resume of active growth. Now figure out how beneficial could be Oxalis keeping away radiation warmth and bringing dew close to palm's stem. At least this is my personal experience. In other landscapes and climates things may be entirely otherwise.

[Jim in Los Altos]

I keep all my garden well mulched year round. A decaying layer of mulch actually creates its own heat until fully composted, holds moisture and is a great breeding ground for beneficial microbes. I never have any bare soil showing. Nature does the same thing. You won’t ever see naked soil in a thriving forest whether it’s tropical or temperate. 

[kinzyjr]

My climate is the antithesis of California or Greece, but I mulch mostly with pine bark for the reasons that @Jim in Los Altos mentioned, and because pine bark gives any soil trending toward an alkaline pH a consistent does of slightly acidic organic matter.

[Than]

6 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I keep all my garden well mulched year round. A decaying layer of mulch actually creates its own heat until fully composted, holds moisture and is a great breeding ground for beneficial microbes. I never have any bare soil showing. Nature does the same thing. You won’t ever see naked soil in a thriving forest whether it’s tropical or temperate. 

Isn't holding moisture rather a problem when the winter is already very wet? 

[Phoenikakias]

2 hours ago, Than said:

Isn't holding moisture rather a problem when the winter is already very wet? 

It depends on soil temperature and kind of plant. 

[Jim in Los Altos]

14 hours ago, Than said:

Isn't holding moisture rather a problem when the winter is already very wet? 

Not at all and I have palms and plants that are both water lovers and ones that are native to drier climates. Besides that, almost all the rain water seeps deeply into the soil whether there’s mulch or not. The mulch only holds a small percentage of that water and provides multiple benefits to the soil and overall health of the plants and trees in the landscape regardless of the time of year. 

[Mazat]

23 hours ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

Not at all and I have palms and plants that are both water lovers and ones that are native to drier climates. Besides that, almost all the rain water seeps deeply into the soil whether there’s mulch or not. The mulch only holds a small percentage of that water and provides multiple benefits to the soil and overall health of the plants and trees in the landscape regardless of the time of year. 

Thank you very much, Jim, for your excellent explanation.
That was also my line of thinking, similar to Than's. In this case, as you so aptly describe, the mulch you use can never store too much water, i.e., it cannot be too wet; rather, the rest is essentially stored deep in the soil. This means that, in principle, from a soil perspective, it would theoretically be possible to grow several palm trees and exotic plants from various climate zones, although someone might live in an absolutely dry climate with very little rainfall per year, and of course, temperature is also a factor. However, this greatly expands the entire spectrum ...

[Phoenikakias]

On 11/14/2025 at 9:39 AM, Phoenikakias said:

It depends on soil temperature and kind of plant. 

 

19 hours ago, Mazat said:

Thank you very much, Jim, for your excellent explanation.
That was also my line of thinking, similar to Than's. In this case, as you so aptly describe, the mulch you use can never store too much water, i.e., it cannot be too wet; rather, the rest is essentially stored deep in the soil. This means that, in principle, from a soil perspective, it would theoretically be possible to grow several palm trees and exotic plants from various climate zones, although someone might live in an absolutely dry climate with very little rainfall per year, and of course, temperature is also a factor. However, this greatly expands the entire spectrum ...

 

On 11/12/2025 at 1:09 PM, Mazat said:

I cut the grass around the palm tree/exotic plant before the cold days arrive, about 50 cm away from the trunk so that no waterlogging can form around and on the trunk.

This way, I can protect them better and wrap them up without everything getting damp or rotting.

That's why we've also made wooden borders at the bottom, but not for all exotic plants.

We also have lots of small dogs here, which are cute and sweet, but of course they mark everything because their owners are too lazy to let them do their business 80 meters away on the large lawn...

It's just so far away 😁

I still insist on my own statement, which refers?of course to 5h3 very special conditions in each garden, landscape and climate. If I let for example Oxalis touching my smal Old Man's Palm, which grows in a semi shaded slope in stony clay, bud rot is guaranteed after any kind of local winter. I do not trust Oxalis touching even my larger Jubaeopsis. I can not imagine, how condensed dew on the leaves of Oxalis may not be detrimental to a sensitive palm after say a short lasting freeze during the  night.

[Than]

1 hour ago, Phoenikakias said:

 

 

I still insist on my own statement, which refers?of course to 5h3 very special conditions in each garden, landscape and climate. If I let for example Oxalis touching my smal Old Man's Palm, which grows in a semi shaded slope in stony clay, bud rot is guaranteed after any kind of local winter. I do not trust Oxalis touching even my larger Jubaeopsis. I can not imagine, how condensed dew on the leaves of Oxalis may not be detrimental to a sensitive palm after say a short lasting freeze during the  night.

I am thinking of leaving the oxalis and add some mulch in between but make sure there is some clearance around the trunk, perhaps 10cm.