Pine Needles (Compressed Bale)

We stock bales of pine needles in 2.5 cubic feet, equivalent to 60 to 70 square feet. We carry 40 bales on a pallet.

In addition to delivery, we can also provide installation services. If you’re interested in having our team install your pine needles, please book a landscape appointment and select Garden Cleanup, Mulch and Sod as the appointment type. If you are interested in having our landscape design team build out a patio, walkway, driveway or other hard surface, please book a Full Service landscape design appointment.

When applying pine needles to your garden:

• Before placing the pine in the garden, remove the strings or wires from the bale of pine. You can then shake the straw out well before placing it and then spread it over your desired area.
• Make sure that you do not cover the base of the plant and instead pour the material a couple inches away from the root systems or tree trunks. This will help the plant absorb water into the roots easier.
• If you are covering bare dirt, we suggest placing the straw 3 to 4” thick around the given area. If different mulching is already there, just spread a thin layer of an inch or two of pine needles to give the area a good mix.

Replace it once a year if your purpose is to protect the plants and provide nutrients into the soil. If it is just used for ornamental purposes, you can replace the needles twice a year in the spring and late fall before the first freeze.

How many pine needles should I use?

A good rule of thumb to follow when buying and placing pine needles is to add a layer of no more than 4” deep. These pine needles are supposed to help conserve moisture, prevent weeds and add organic matter to the soil, but if you add more than 4” of needles on top of your plants, this will create a barrier that inhibits air and water from getting into the soil.

How often should I replace the pine needles and do I have to take up the old mulch?

Pine should typically be replaced about once a year and you can do this at any point of the year, but spring is typically a great time to mulch as you are already doing spring cleaning in your garden. Throughout the year, you may have seen an inch or two of pine runoff or decompose, leaving a thin layer of old pine on your plants. If this is the case, you don’t need to take up the old pine before adding a new layer, you can just mix it with new mulch of your choosing. If your pine did not run off or decompose and there is still 3-4” of mulch, you don’t necessarily need to take up this mulch or add new mulch, but if you see that the color of the mulch has faded or become raggedy, you might want to refresh the mulch with new material for aesthetic purposes.

What are pine needles?

Pine needles are fallen, dried needles from pine trees. They are gathered, baled and used as a lightweight, natural mulch.

Do pine needles fade?

Yes, fresh pine needles have a bright orange-brown color that gradually fades to a soft gray-brown as they age.

Will pine needles wash away?

Pine needles are excellent for slopes and erosion control because the needles interlock and stay in place. They resist washing away better than many wood mulches.