You need
- 30.0cu ft
- 0.85m³
- 270–526lb
Prices: what landscape yards and garden centers post, October 2026, before delivery.
- You need 1.11 cubic yards of shredded hardwood to cover 120 sq ft, 3 in deep.
- In bags, get 15 bags of 2 cu ft.
- Bulk costs about $38 to $68. Bags cost about $53 to $98. Type your store's prices to see which is less.
- Bulk mulch often has a delivery fee. Ask about it when you call.
- It weighs about 270 to 526 lb. Dry mulch is light. Wet mulch is heavy.
Text this to a garden center
Hi! I need about 1.11 cubic yards of shredded hardwood, delivered. What would it cost, with delivery?
How far mulch goes
One cubic yard covers 324 sq ft when it is 1 inch deep. Twice as deep covers half as much.One cubic meter covers 100 sq m when it is 1 cm deep. Twice as deep covers half as much.
| Depth | 1 cubic yardcubic meter covers | 1 bag of 2 cu ft covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in2.5 cm | 324 sq ft40 sq m | 24 sq ft |
| 2 in5 cm | 162 sq ft20 sq m | 12 sq ft |
| 3 in7.5 cm | 108 sq ft13.3 sq m | 8 sq ft |
| 4 in10 cm | 81 sq ft10 sq m | 6 sq ft |
Bag labels match this math. A Scotts 1.5 cu ft bag says it covers 9 sq ft at 2 in.
How deep to make mulch
Garden experts say 2 to 4 inches5 to 10 cm in all, counting the old mulch. Too much mulch keeps water and air from roots.
- 2 to 3 in5 to 7.5 cmFine mulch, like compost
- 3 in7.5 cmMost beds, trees and shrubs
- 3 to 4 in7.5 to 10 cmCoarse mulch, like big bark chunks
Keep mulch 4 inches10 cm away from tree trunks. A pile of mulch against a tree is called a mulch volcano. It can rot the bark.
When old mulch thins out, add a thin new layer on top. You do not need to take the old mulch away. In Florida, UF/IFAS says to stop at 3 in7.5 cm.
Illinois Extension, Nebraska Extension (2014) and UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions.
Mulch types
-
Shredded hardwood
- 1 yd³ weighs1 m³ weighs
- 243 to 473 lb144 to 281 kg
- Price
- $34 to $61 a yd³$44 to $80 a m³
Weight: EPA's figure for wood chips, dry to fresh. No one lists this mulch by itself. Price: all bulk mulch, from yards' posted prices.
-
Pine bark
- 1 yd³ weighs1 m³ weighs
- 243 to 473 lb144 to 281 kg
- Price
- $34 to $61 a yd³$44 to $80 a m³
Weight: EPA's figure for wood chips, dry to fresh. No one lists this mulch by itself. Price: all bulk mulch, from yards' posted prices.
-
Cedar
- 1 yd³ weighs1 m³ weighs
- 243 to 473 lb144 to 281 kg
- Price
- $34 to $61 a yd³$44 to $80 a m³
Weight: EPA's figure for wood chips, dry to fresh. No one lists this mulch by itself. Price: all bulk mulch, from yards' posted prices.
-
Dyed mulch
- 1 yd³ weighs1 m³ weighs
- 243 to 473 lb144 to 281 kg
- Price
- $34 to $61 a yd³$44 to $80 a m³
Weight: EPA's figure for wood chips, dry to fresh. No one lists this mulch by itself. Price: all bulk mulch, from yards' posted prices.
-
Pine straw
- 1 yd³ weighs1 m³ weighs
- No figure found
- One bale covers
- 30 to 50 sq ft2.8 to 4.6 sq m
Sold in bales, not bags. No garden expert gives a figure for a bale. Sellers say one bale covers 30 to 50 sq ft at about 3 in. Weight: no figure found.
How the math works
- Area. Length times width. For a circle, half the width times itself, times 3.1416. One meter is 3.28084 feet.
- Depth to add. The depth you want, take away the mulch already there. If there is enough, you need none.
- Size of the pile. Area in sq ft times the depth to add in inches, divided by 12, gives cubic feet. Cubic feet divided by 27 gives cubic yards.
- Bags. Cubic feet divided by the bag size, rounded up. One cubic yard is 27 cu ft, so it is 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft.
- Pine straw. Sellers say a bale covers about 40 sq ft at 3 in (30 to 50). That is about 10.0 cu ft a bale. This is our estimate. Longleaf bales cost $5.00 to $8.79 each, from the prices sellers post. Our pine straw calculator has more.
- Weight. EPA says a cubic yard of wood chips weighs 243 lb dry and 473 lb fresh. We use that for all wood mulch.
- Price. We looked at prices that landscape yards and garden centers post on their own sites, in October 2026. Most asked $34 to $61 a cubic yard, and $3.50 to $6.50 for a 2 cu ft bag. We scale that for other bag sizes. We leave out the cheapest and dearest tenth. Delivery is extra.
- Which costs less. We say bulk or bags only when one whole price range is below the other. Otherwise type your own prices.
Questions
How many bags of mulch are in a yard?
One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. That is 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft, 18 bags of 1.5 cu ft, or 9 bags of 3 cu ft.
How many yards of mulch are in a bag?
A 2 cu ft bag holds 0.074 cubic yards. A 1.5 cu ft bag holds 0.056. A 3 cu ft bag holds 0.11.
How much mulch is in a yard? How far does it go?
A yard of mulch is 27 cubic feet. It covers 162 sq ft at 2 in deep, 108 sq ft at 3 in, and 81 sq ft at 4 in.
How much is a yard of mulch?
About $34 to $61 a cubic yard for the mulch, from what landscape yards post (October 2026). Delivery costs extra. A 2 cu ft bag costs about $3.50 to $6.50.
Is it cheaper to buy mulch in bulk or in bags?
It depends on your store. The price ranges overlap a lot. Bulk often has a delivery fee, so add it in. Type both prices into the calculator, and it will tell you which is less.
How much does a yard of mulch weigh?
No one lists a weight for each kind of mulch. EPA says a cubic yard of wood chips weighs about 243 lb dry and 473 lb fresh. Wet mulch weighs more.
How deep should mulch be?
2 to 4 inches in all, counting the old mulch. Never more than 4 inches. Keep it 4 inches away from tree trunks.
Sources
- Illinois Extension, Proper Mulching TechniquesundatedMulch 2 to 4 in deep, and 4 in away from trunks
- UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, mulchread Oct 2026Keep 2 to 3 in; add a thin layer on old mulch
- Nebraska Extension, Mulching the Landscape (EC1274)2014Mulch 2 to 4 in deep around trees and shrubs
- US EPA, volume-to-weight factorsApr 2016Weight of a cubic yard of wood chips
- Scotts Nature Scapes 1.5 cu ft bagseen Oct 2026Bag label: 9 sq ft at 2 in