10 Best Leaf Mulchers of 2022
Reduce Your Garden Waste and Feed Your Plants With a Leaf Mulcher
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Do you have mountains of fallen leaves to clean up in your yard? Instead of just bagging them up and putting them out with your green waste collection, why not mulch them instead? Leaf mulch is one of the best ways to feed your plants and condition your soil and help prevent weed growth. Mulched-up leaves will add important nutrients to your garden. This will keep your plants happy, meaning you’ll spend less money on commercial fertilizers.
Our team has researched the best leaf mulchers, giving you the complete rundown of each one to save you time. Our leaf mulcher reviews cover different mulcher models and their mulching capacities. We’ve looked at a range of models, from the best handheld mulchers to the best stationary ones for heavy-duty leaf mulching.
Don’t forget to check out our buying guide! We’ll tell you what to look out for and give you some tips on what to do with all the mulch you’ve made.
View the Best leaf Mulcher, Below.
- WORX WG505 3-in-1 Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
- Greenworks 24322 Cordless Leaf Blower/Vacuum
- Sun Joe SBJ605E 3-in-1 Electric Shredder/Mulcher
- WORX WG430 Foldable Electric Leaf Shredder/Mulcher
- BLACK+DECKER BEBL7000 Blower/Vacuum
- Toro 51621 Ultra Electric Blower Vac
- Sun Joe IONBV-CT Cordless Leaf Blower/Mulcher
- BLACK+DECKER BV6600 3-in-1 Electric Leaf Blower/Mulcher
- Sun Joe SDJ616 Electric Leaf Mulcher/Shredder
- Flowtron LE-900 The Ultimate Mulcher
1. WORX WG505 3-in-1 Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
Best Lightweight Corded Leaf Shredder
This corded leaf mulcher from Worx is a 3-in-1 tool: a blower, a mulcher, and a vacuum. It's easy to change functions with just the flick of a switch. And there's no need to change the tube. This leaf mulcher also comes with a large collection bag and a quick-release lever for easy emptying. Plus, it has a metal impeller to chop up all that garden debris effectively.
Why We Liked It: With this handy blower, mulcher, and vacuum in one, you can clean your yard up with just one tool. Plus, it's lightweight and can be operated with one hand. The powerful mulcher will make quick work of all that debris around your yard, reducing it to a handy mulch for your garden beds.
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2. Greenworks 24322 Cordless Leaf Blower/Vacuum
Best Variable Speed Handheld Leaf Mulcher
This battery-powered leaf mulcher is also a blower and vacuum. It uses a 4 Ah battery that will give you up to 21 minutes of runtime on one charge. This blower and mulcher feature a brushless motor for maximum durability and performance. Plus, there's a turbo button for when you need that extra burst of power.
Why We Liked It: Take this cordless leaf mulcher anywhere around your yard - you're not tethered to a cord. It provides plenty of power to get the job done quickly. Plus, the 6-speed settings allow you to control exactly what you want to pick up. This is convenient if you've already mulched garden beds and only want to remove the leaves from them.
Check Price on Amazon ➞3. Sun Joe SBJ605E 3-in-1 Electric Shredder/Mulcher
Best Leaf Mulcher With Alloy Impeller
This electric leaf mulcher from Sun Joe is another 3-in-1 tool. It features an aluminum alloy impeller for fast and efficient mulching and durability. Not only that, but you can also use the unit as a blower and a vacuum. It can easily handle both dry leaves and wet leaves with the 14-amp motor.
Why We Liked It: This electric leaf mulcher is three tools in one. The blower is heavy-duty and can generate speeds of up to 250 MPH. To turn the unit from a blower to a vacuum and mulcher, just change the tube. The vacuum tube also has detachable wheels to make sucking up those leaves even easier. This is also handy when the bag starts to fill and gets a little heavier.
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4. WORX WG430 Foldable Electric Leaf Shredder/Mulcher
Best Overall Stationary Leaf Mulcher
This electric leaf mulcher has a 13-amp electric motor which can mulch up to 53 gallons of leaves per minute. You can easily attach any standard plastic yard work bag or reusable collection bag to the bottom of the mulcher to catch the mulch. This makes cleanup really simple. The leaf mulcher uses a bladeless system to mulch up the debris.
Why We Liked It: This powerful Worx WG430 leaf mulcher is a workhorse. It will make short work of all your garden debris, and it will do it quickly. As a bonus, the unit is easy to disassemble, so you can store it away in the shed or garage when not in use. And finally, the air-cooled motor is designed to reduce dust generation.
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5. BLACK+DECKER BEBL7000 Blower/Vacuum
Best Leaf Mulcher For Heavy-Duty Yard Work
This electric leaf mulcher from Black & Decker is also a 3-in-1 unit. By changing the tube, it easily converts from a blower into a vacuum and mulcher. The detachable vacuum bag can be worn as a backpack, making clean-up work easy and comfortable. The bag is large and comes with a flexible hose to allow for easy maneuverability.
Why We Liked It: This Black & Decker leaf mulcher will make gardening and yard work fun. The collection bag can be worn as a backpack. This means the bag won't add to the mulcher's weight as you go, making the leaf mulcher really easy to use. Black & Decker offers a limited 2-year warranty on this model.
You need a long extension cord to go around your yard
Wet leaves are likely to clog up the unit
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6. Toro 51621 Ultra Electric Blower Vac
Best Easy-To-Store Portable Leaf Mulcher
This corded electric leaf mulcher can be used as a blower, vacuum, and mulcher. The unit features variable speeds for both the blower and vacuum. It has a metal impeller to increase mulching efficiency. One additional feature is the built-in cord lock - this means that the mulcher won't disconnect from the power cord.
Why We Liked It: Converting the blower to a vac is simple with the quick-release latch. This also allows you to disassemble the unit and store it in the collection bag in your shed or garage.
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7. Sun Joe IONBV-CT Cordless Leaf Blower/Mulcher
Best Lightweight Cordless Leaf Mulcher
This battery-powered blower and mulcher only weigh 4.4 pounds without the battery. It converts easily from a blower to a vacuum and mulcher in seconds. The collection bag has an extra clip for the vacuum chute, giving it more stability as it starts to fill. The vacuum chute also has detachable wheels to make your job easier.
Why We Liked It: Being a cordless leaf mulcher, this unit is great if you have a large yard or a lot of leaves to clean up. Because you're not tethered to a cord, you won't get tangled or trip over it. The way the bag clips onto the vacuum tube makes it a lot simpler to use. The detachable wheels are only plastic, so take care not to put too much pressure on them, or they might break. These features are designed to make using the vacuum easier, taking the weight off your shoulders.
Check Price on Amazon ➞8. BLACK+DECKER BV6600 3-in-1 Electric Leaf Blower/Mulcher
Best All-Round 3-in-1 Leaf Mulcher & Shredder
This electric leaf mulcher from Black & Decker converts from a blower to a mulcher and vacuums in just seconds. It has an excellent mulch ratio of 16:1. The collection bag is easy to empty and reusable, saving you time and effort. The variable-speed function means that you can control how much airpower you want to apply for any particular task.
Why We Liked It: This Black & Decker leaf mulcher has enough power to tackle all your yard work with ease. It easily converts from blower to mulcher with a mulching ratio of 16 to 1. Plus, the metal impeller will make short work of all your garden debris.
Check Price on Amazon ➞9. Sun Joe SDJ616 Electric Leaf Mulcher/Shredder
Best Leaf Mulcher For Both Wet And Dry Leaves
This electric leaf mulcher and shredder from Sun Joe has a powerful 13-amp motor that can generate 8,000 RPM. The motor is air-cooled and designed to reduce dust. The mulcher has an easy-to-read control dial that you can adjust to either accommodate wet or dry leaves and other garden debris. You can also remove the legs easily and place them into the hopper for compact storage.
Why We Liked It: This powerful leaf shredder has a 13-amp motor but only weighs 13.4 pounds. This makes it easy to transport around your yard. It can shred up to 55 gallons of leaves per minute. It won't take long to reduce all the leaves to a handy mulch for your garden beds - or to add to your compost heap! Sun Joe offers a 2-year warranty on this product.
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10. Flowtron LE-900 The Ultimate Mulcher
Best Mulching Ratio Leaf Mulcher
The Flowtron electric chipper and shredder shreds wet or dry leaves, as well as grass clippings and even pine needles! You can select the output to produce fine, medium, or coarse mulch. Why not place the leaf shredder on top of your trash can to easily collect the mulch? Or, you can attach a collection bag instead.
Why We Liked It: This electric leaf chipper and shredder allows you to select how fine you want your mulch to be. This gives you complete flexibility to create the perfect mulch for your garden beds or compost. It easily mulches both wet and dry leaves. Flowtron offers a full 1-year warranty.
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Best Leaf Mulcher Buying Guide
Before you decide on the best leaf mulcher for your needs, there are some features to consider. We’ll discuss these in more detail, giving you the best possible information to make your choice. The leaf mulcher reviews above will give you an idea of all the different features these machines offer. Different types of leaf mulchers are suited to different applications.
When making a buying decision, consider each unit’s power and the volume of leaves and debris you want to mulch. Also, think about what you want to do with the leaves after you’ve shredded them. Are you going to dispose of them or use them on your garden beds or in your compost?
We’ll give you some ideas of why you should mulch your fallen leaves and how best to use them a little further on. But first, let’s look at the more prominent mulcher features available to make your choice a little easier.
Types of Leaf Mulchers
There are two basic styles of leaf mulchers available: handheld and stationary. Handheld models are usually a combination of a leaf blower, mulcher, and vacuum. Generally, these also come as either gas-powered units, corded electric, or cordless battery-powered leaf mulchers.
Stationary leaf mulchers are available as either gas-powered models or electric units.
Handheld 3-in-1 Leaf Mulchers/Leaf Blowers
Handheld leaf mulchers are convenient to use because you can take them anywhere around your yard. They can also function as a leaf blower, which means you get three tools in one if you select this type of unit.
Corded leaf mulchers are ideal if you have a small yard and don’t mind dragging an extension cord around. They’re generally lightweight and have plenty of power, both for blowing leaves off your driveway and then vacuuming them up for mulching.
However, if you have a larger yard, you might prefer a battery-powered leaf mulcher. These give you more flexibility with movement because you’re not tethered to a power cord. Just ensure that you keep the battery charged!
In many cases, these leaf mulchers are sold by major brands that also make other garden and power tools. This means you can use the same batteries with the other tools from the same brand.
Stationary Leaf Shredders
Stationary leaf mulchers are heavy-duty machines. They’re most suitable if you have a lot of fallen leaves and garden debris you want to break down. These units will power through an enormous amount of leaves. In fact, most of them can handle 53 gallons of leaves or more in just one minute.
So, if you have large deciduous trees in your yards, such as oaks or maples, you definitely want to consider one of these stationary leaf mulchers.
Weight of the Leaf Mulcher
Another thing to consider is the weight of the leaf mulcher. Remember, if you vacuum the leaves into an attached bag, that bag will increase in weight. Mulched leaves weigh more than leaves that haven’t been shredded.
For heavy-duty mulching with a handheld unit, you might want to consider a machine where you can wear the reusable collection bag as a backpack. Alternatively, it should at least include a shoulder strap.
Some models in our leaf mulcher reviews have wheels that you can attach to the vacuum tube. This means the weight of the unit is on the ground rather than on your shoulder. Bear in mind though, that leaf mulchers are much closer to the ground when using the wheels so they may not be suitable for tall people.
Consider How Easy it is to Convert the Leaf Blower to a Leaf Mulcher
When you’re out in the yard doing a clean-up, you don’t want to be back and forth, fetching additional tools that will change your leaf blower into a vacuum. Some models don’t even require you to change the tube – you just flick a switch to convert the blower into a mulcher.
However, other units do need a tube change to convert them from a blower to a mulcher. When it comes to these types of models, select one that has an easy change solution or one that requires the use of a screwdriver.
Consider what you’re most comfortable with when looking at this feature. Also, consider how often you’ll be using the unit as a leaf blower or a leaf vacuum.
Mulching Ratio
The mulching ratio is important because it tells you the volume your leaves will be reduced to. For example, a mulch ratio of 16:1 means that the leaf mulcher will reduce 16 bags of leaves down to only one bag. The higher the mulch ratio, the fewer mulched leaves you’ll have when you’ve finished mulching.
If you have a lot of leaves to mulch, you’ll want to look for a leaf mulcher that gives you the biggest reduction in volume. On the other hand, if you don’t have a huge volume of leaves but want to use them as mulch on your garden beds, consider a mulcher with a lower ratio.
What Power Source Works Best For You?
Leaf mulchers come with three different power sources, so you have to decide which is best for you. Firstly, there are gas-powered models. These are usually quite heavy and require a fair bit of maintenance. You need to add fuel and oil to make them run. They can also be quite noisy. For most homeowners, gas-powered leaf mulchers are not the ideal choice due to their noise and carbon emissions.
The best leaf mulchers for homeowners are either corded electric models or cordless battery-powered ones. Generally, the size of your yard and your personal preference will determine which one is best for you.
Corded leaf mulchers will run for as long as you want them to as long as they’re connected to a power outlet. These are ideal for people who have smaller yards or a long enough extension cord to cover the area they need to.
Battery-powered leaf mulchers are cordless, so you’re not restricted in how far you can take them. Most of these units are made by leading brand tool manufacturers, so the batteries are interchangeable with other tools from the same brand.
Why You Should Mulch Leaves
You might be asking why you should mulch your leaves rather than just dispose of them with your green waste. Well, there are a number of good reasons for mulching your leaves.
It Saves You Time
Have you ever spent countless hours raking and bagging up the leaves in your yard? This tiresome work can take up much of your weekend, especially in the fall when deciduous trees drop their leaves. Using a leaf vacuum that’s also capable of mulching your leaves means you spend less time working in your garden and more time enjoying it.
Mulching Your Leaves is Better for the Environment
Reducing leaves into handy mulch is so much better for the environment because you’re not creating excess waste. You could just rake up the leaves and dump them on your garden beds, but as soon as the wind blows, they’ll be all over your lawn again.
If you use a leaf vacuum that’s also capable of mulching leaves, you’ll create an effective mulch that will stay put when you pop it onto your garden beds. This is because shredded leaves are far denser than dry leaves.
Adding Mulched Leaves to Your Garden or Compost Will Improve Your Soil
Did you know that leaf mulch will greatly improve your soil? You can check this out yourself by examining the soil under any deciduous trees you may have.
Shredded leaves add mountains of nitrogen to your soil. As the mulch breaks down, it also improves the structure of the soil. This, in turn, creates a far friendlier growing environment for your ornamentals and flowering plants. If you add some of your mulched leaves to your compost, you’ll have far better yields when it comes to your vegetable garden.
What You Can Do With Your Mulched Leaves
So, you’ve decided that mulching your leaves is indeed beneficial. But, what do you do with them after you’ve mulched them all up? Here are just a few ideas you might want to consider for your freshly mulched pile of leaves.
Use Them to Nourish Your Lawn
Broken-down leaf matter adds valuable nitrogen to the soil, and that’s exactly what a healthy, thriving lawn needs! So here’s what you can do to feed your lawn as you’re shredding leaves.
Instead of bagging up the mulched leaves, remove the leaf bag and just let the mulch fall onto the ground all over your lawn. You need to make sure that the mulched leaves are spread evenly across your grass. Otherwise, you might end up with some dead patches of lawn.
If your lawn only has a light covering of leaves, this method is ideal. Just use a rake after you’ve finished shredding leaves to spread out any concentrated areas of leaf mulch.
Bag Them Up and Put Them Out With Your Green Waste
If you don’t have any garden beds in your yard or don’t make your own compost, you can easily bag up the mulched leaves and send them off with the green waste.
Mulching your leaves first ensures that you’ll have far less waste than if you were just to fill the bags with whole leaves. Most leaf mulchers will accommodate disposable bags, so this makes your job nice and easy.
Put Them on Your Garden Beds to Feed Your Plants
As the leaf mulch breaks down, it adds valuable nutrients to the soil. These nutrients are then taken up by the plants growing in your garden beds. Plus, leaf mulch is a great soil conditioner.
If you use this mulching method regularly, you’ll save heaps of time and money because you won’t have to fertilize your plants as often.
Add Them to Your Compost Bin
Shredded leaves will add carbon to your compost as they break down. This, in turn, helps your compost to mature quicker. Faster maturing compost means that you can add it to your vegetable and flower beds sooner.
Naturally-created compost will always give you far greater yields than commercially produced fertilizers.
Make Your Own Soil
If you leave mulched leaves for a while, they’ll eventually break down into nutrient-rich soil. This is called hummus. Using this to grow your vegetables will produce the most amazing results.
To make your own hummus, just add the mulched leaves to a separate compost bin in your yard. Or, you can even just put them in a pile somewhere inconspicuous and let them break down. Make sure that the pile gets a fair bit of sunlight and is also regularly watered.
The resulting hummus is rich in nutrients and can even be used as a potting mix.
Conclusion
We hope that our leaf mulcher reviews have left you a little wiser, and you can easily select the best leaf mulcher for your garden. Now, you can narrow down the choices and decide whether you need a handheld model that doubles as a blower or a stationary one that can handle a humongous volume of leaves.
Our selection also includes the best battery-powered leaf mulchers and corded ones, suitable for smaller yards. Wherever we could, we’ve included each model’s mulching ratio. This way, you can see how much you can reduce your leaf litter.
Using one of these leaf mulchers will make shredding leaves quick and easy and save you heaps of time in the garden. That means you’ll have more time to enjoy your well-manicured yard once you’re done. Gardening in the winter? Check out these awesome snow blowers!