white pine needles -- mulch or rake? (grass, mower, azaleas)

[dpbucke]

Twice a year, MUCH needle raking. We have a good mulching mower -- will mulched needles really kill the grass or just give some good compost?

[no kudzu]

In the south we pay big money for pine straw as a mulch. I wouldn't waste it myself unless you have too much mulching materials already.

[normie]

Ah, a question I have a lot of experience with. We had numerous white pines in our yard. Yes, the needles will kill your grass. A few needles won't do much harm, but lots of needles will so it pays to rake them up. Put the needles around acid loving plants (roses, azaleas, etc.) You can also put them on top of daffodils with no harm.

[Luvvarkansas]

Ship it to me? I use pine straw everywhere as mulch, not just around azaleas or roses or daffodils. It's never harmed anything yet.

[normie]

Oh, one other thing: Avoid putting pine needles next to your house. They attract termites.

[SD4020]

In turf too heavy will be harmful. Around plants in beds it is used as a mulch.