Wood Chips

This information supplements the "Designing your Rain Garden" section of the Rain Garden Manual for Vermont and the Lake Champlain Basin.

Overview

The typical approach in a flower bed is to use bark mulch. This can be okay in a rain garden, but is not recommended because bark mulch floats and therefore can be carried away as stormwater runoff enters the rain garden. A better alternative to bark mulch is wood chips. Apply a 2-3 inch layer of wood chips to areas not covered by plants or seeds. A cubic yard of wood chips will cover a 100 square foot area with a layer of about three inches thick. 

What's the difference between wood chips and bark mulch?

  • Wood chips: pieces of wood from fallen trees
  • Bark mulch: consists of shredded pieces of tree bark and organic matter

Supplemental Information

  • This article by Leonard Perry, UVM Extension 
  • "Wood chip mulch: Landscape boon or bane?" from the Master Gardener, WSU publication (PDF)