Is ALL mulch around trees bad or just too much? I have some pine and hickory trees in my yard that are surrounded by stones and the beds filled with (I think) cypress mulch.
There are some weeds in the beds and the mulch is looking a little old. I just need to know whether or not I should re-mulch or pull the beds out completely? The trees appear to be very healthy. The pines are very tall and the hickory is about 20'. If I do remulch, should I use cypress or another type of mulch?
Thanks in advance!
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The Helpful Gardener
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Who said mulch was bad?
Ten years of chopped palletts (died red and replaced yearly because the die washes out) stealing fertlizer out of your soil (because the bacteria laboring to break it down are competing for nitrogen with your PLANTS) piling up four inches deep around your trees and matting down (creating a gas and water exclusionary layer that slowly suffocates your tree) is bad...
Cypress is bad because, hey, show me a cypress farm. Ain't none. So where's the wood coming from? Mmm hmm...
Y'all been warned...
But a good pine mulch, bark mulch, and none of that nugget stuff (softwoods break down a lot faster than the oak and such in palletts), preferably aged a bit, applied after turning in the old stuff with a hoe or cultivator to the depth of an inch, two at most (less nearer the plant) is a good thing. A real good thing...
Scott
Ten years of chopped palletts (died red and replaced yearly because the die washes out) stealing fertlizer out of your soil (because the bacteria laboring to break it down are competing for nitrogen with your PLANTS) piling up four inches deep around your trees and matting down (creating a gas and water exclusionary layer that slowly suffocates your tree) is bad...
Cypress is bad because, hey, show me a cypress farm. Ain't none. So where's the wood coming from? Mmm hmm...
Y'all been warned...But a good pine mulch, bark mulch, and none of that nugget stuff (softwoods break down a lot faster than the oak and such in palletts), preferably aged a bit, applied after turning in the old stuff with a hoe or cultivator to the depth of an inch, two at most (less nearer the plant) is a good thing. A real good thing...
Scott
Last edited by The Helpful Gardener on Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mulch around your plants is a great thing as it helps retain moisture - and depending upon what kind of mulch it is, it can even be adding nutrients to your soil. That red-dyed junk sold at box stores is a no-no, as is the cypress for reasons Scott mentioned (I'll go back to the cypress).
I use crushed leaves for mine, or half-decomposed leaves.
On the cypress thing: they chop them down in FL to make room for new housing developments. Anybody giggling yet?
There's an old Florida Cracker saying: Put your boat where the cypress trees are, and your house where the oak trees are.
And no these developers are not adding lots of dirt to raise the level from where the cypress stood - so - they are building these homes in what at one time, was a swamp, and could well be again. I had a realtor friend there who told me someone was looking at a prospective home's backyard and there was a cypress tree in the preserve part. She asked what the ring was, about 5' from the ground. (a water ring!)
So in my mind: developers are the new devil. Not only are they destroying our land and forests for a buck... but people are buying up, not realizing the developer does not have thier best interest in mind.
I use crushed leaves for mine, or half-decomposed leaves.
On the cypress thing: they chop them down in FL to make room for new housing developments. Anybody giggling yet?
There's an old Florida Cracker saying: Put your boat where the cypress trees are, and your house where the oak trees are.
And no these developers are not adding lots of dirt to raise the level from where the cypress stood - so - they are building these homes in what at one time, was a swamp, and could well be again. I had a realtor friend there who told me someone was looking at a prospective home's backyard and there was a cypress tree in the preserve part. She asked what the ring was, about 5' from the ground. (a water ring!)
So in my mind: developers are the new devil. Not only are they destroying our land and forests for a buck... but people are buying up, not realizing the developer does not have thier best interest in mind.
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The Helpful Gardener
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grandpasrose
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I have mulched my stand of trees out front for years with all the grass clippings and leaves I can find. It was a wasteland that wouldn't grow anything because it was just too dry, and the trees were just sort of hanging in there, not looking particularly healthy.
Now I get regular donations by two neighbours, my dad, his neigbour, who all live miles away,and a sister who doesn't even live here! Plus all of our own, which is quite bountiful. The trees have improved noticeably since doing this. The soil is moist, and the roots stay cooled when it is hot. Can't beat it!!
Val
Now I get regular donations by two neighbours, my dad, his neigbour, who all live miles away,and a sister who doesn't even live here! Plus all of our own, which is quite bountiful. The trees have improved noticeably since doing this. The soil is moist, and the roots stay cooled when it is hot. Can't beat it!!
Val