I use pine straw on the beardless area, but never mulch anything else.....I either "pin" them down, or set a brick on them, if I think heaving might be a problem, though. With our typically wet winters, and springs....I don't want any of the bearded to have anything on them. The pine straw (and oak leaves, too) will, on decomposing, make the soil a little "acid"....not much...enough to "help" the beardless, in my case, and really not enough to bother the bearded, as our soil is very *sweet*. I know one local lady who mulches her bearded, every year, with wheat straw......applies it after the ground freezes, and removes it in the spring, just after the frost *goes out*....and she seems to not have many problems, so, again.....whatever works for you, I guess
