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I'd been buying bags of cypress mulch, but recently heard it's not a very environmentally friendly option.

Now I'm thinking of having mulch delivered, but there are so many choices!

Thoughts?

Well, I usually buy what's cheapest. But I don't like the colored red mulch. If I can find the shredded pine (not bark) mulch I get that. But this year the bagged cedar is cheapest.Definitely wouldn't use the rubber mulch but that's just IMO.

When I have to buy it I get the shredded pine mulch. For the past few years, I've been getting free shredded leaves from my BIL...so that's what I use. Both will decompose and enrich the soil.

Like Jan, I do not like the red mulch at all. Nor do I like the chunky bark mulch, but that's just my personal preference.

ve

I use a large amount of creek rock mulch. Slightly larger and more jagged than the water rounded river rock offered locally. I know gardners who think rock mulch heats up the ground and makes watering more of a chore, but I have used rock mulch for many years and have not found that to be an issue for my gardens.
I also have several beds where cypress mulch
resides. IMO I find cypress mulch to be a lot of work. Turning it every year to reduce the occurence of mold and insects & replenishing it by the truck load is a chore.
I do not like the red mulch or any of the colored mulch that pops up each Spring. I also will not use the shredded rubber mulch.

Down here, lots of folks use pine straw. It's plentiful and cheap, if you don't have a free source. Doesn't block water or air and takes a good while to deteriorate.

All cedar.
Or, cedar, with whatever shredded hardwood is on sale.
No pine, or large chips.

Shredded cedar here too. I buy 2 cubic foot bags when they go on sale.
At least this is what I use next to the foundation and anywhere that appearance counts. It stays put better than other bark mulch, repels some insects and does not rot to nothing in a season. Just top dress areas in the spring.

I like cotton hull mulch -- it looks like dirt and helps the soil. Sometimes for large areas I use a wood mulch but I absolutely abhor the red stuff and the beige stuff so I get the brown stuff. I buy whatever is cheapest.

Martha

There is some discussion about the manufacturers of Cypress mulch are cutting down large stands of Cypress to make that mulch and not replanting for the future, ie. clear cutitng stands of Cypress.
Which material to use for mulch. I prefer what I can get for free or very close to that. Shredded leaves are very good, a renewable resource, and very often free (except for shredding them, although some people do that as the pick them up). Wood chips, from local tree trimmers can sometimes be gotten for free. Next would be wood chips, shredded wood, shredded bark, etc. from a landscaping company, but that can be costly.
There was an article in Fine Gardening magazine not very long ago that indicated the dyed wood chip mulches hae been found to contain heavy metals. I would suspect the red dyed mulches made from recycled building materials that contains OSB (Oriented Strand Board, because of the adhesives used), maybe Pressure Treated wood (not supposed to be there but who knows), etc.
What is available at the lowest cost and what do you want to see. Keep in mind that mulches should not fight with your plants for attention, like many of the dyed mulches do. Mulches should reced into the background ans enhance, but not detract, from your plantings.

Like shredded dark brown or chocolate as it really dresses up the yard...the one I like the very best is the mulch that someone else puts down for me!

Since I have a pick up truck I like bulk triple shred mulch. One scoop, a yard, fits easily in my truck bed and costs around $24. I spread two loads a couple of weeks ago, I need to get another two to finish off renewing the beds around my house. I like pine bark nuggets but it tends to float away on my sloping lot. It lasts a long time especially if you get the large nuggets.

I'm not a fan of pine straw as it is very flammable. It is banned around multifamily homes here because of some rather spectacular fires that took out several rows of townhomes. I'll use it in my natural area if I don't get enough leaves for free, but not near the house. I'll go around the neighborhood and snag the bags of leaves my neighbors put out for yard waste pick up and use those in my natural areas to beef up what my trees drop.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sparky,

The Bureau of Forestry offers free wood chip mulch in your area. If I remember correctly you have to be willing to accept 8-12 cubic yards to use this service but they do deliver it.

I almost certain your city offers free mulch from made from recycled Christmas trees, as well as mulch from made from what they collect and shred. I would be leery of any mulch created from collected residential clippings because it's full of weeds. I used some from my area and found part of a toothbrush in it.

quote:

Originally posted by still tryin:
The Bureau of Forestry offers free wood chip mulch in your area. If I remember correctly you have to be willing to accept 8-12 cubic yards to use this service but they do deliver it.

I almost certain your city offers free mulch from made from recycled Christmas trees, as well as mulch from made from what they collect and shred. I would be leery of any mulch created from collected residential clippings because it's full of weeds. I used some from my area and found part of a toothbrush in it.

Our yardwaste goes to a central facility and is commercially composted. I got a load of it a couple of years ago, very nice stuff. It gets hot enough to kill the weed seeds. I think it is even certified. It wouldn't be a mulch, but a really good soil amendment. Wood chips from a tree trimming company ought to be aged before it is used, it will also float more than shredded mulch which around here tends to come from roots and stumps when they clear land for development. They bring in a large barrel shredder and grind the stumps and stuff that isn't usable for lumber or pulp wood into mulch. The equipment used by tree companies tends to chip the branches rather than shred them.

One thing to be aware of?
We once got a load of shredded mulch (tree trimmings from an arborist) and had so much extra we stock piled it until it was needed later in the season. That was the "one and only year" our dogs got flea infestations and later tapeworm. The mice took up residence in and under the warm mulch pile (looked like a beaver lodge), and that was where the fleas (and tapeworm) came from.

Since then we have stuck to cedar mulch and never again were fleas an issue.

The cocoa shell mulch is also bad if one has dogs. We had an Irish Setter who would have eaten half the bag if she could have been left to it.

THANKS so much for all the great comments & insight! I'm not really into the color enhanced mulches as I agree with many posters that the mulch shouldn't detract from the plants it surrounds.

I do use shredded leaves to mulch in the fall as that's when I start prepping any new garden beds. This time of year is when I've been doing the bagged mulch. I've got a line on a few places that deliver so I don't have to haul the bags home....I'll let you know what I decide on!

Thanks again!

quote:

Originally posted by still tryin:
The Bureau of Forestry offers free wood chip mulch in your area. If I remember correctly you have to be willing to accept 8-12 cubic yards to use this service but they do deliver it.

I almost certain your city offers free mulch from made from recycled Christmas trees, as well as mulch from made from what they collect and shred. I would be leery of any mulch created from collected residential clippings because it's full of weeds. I used some from my area and found part of a toothbrush in it.

There aren't any Bureau of Forestry around here. We have a state Forestry Dept. but they don't have mulch.
All our city & county yard waste/trimmings are sold to a compost company...if you want any you have to haul it yourself AND pay for it!

I like FREE mulch! Which in my case is pine tree trimmings & pine straw. It is NOT banned here and I've never heard of any house fire being started from it in this area.
AND since we have 16 acres that was mostly planted pines when we bought it...we have a good supply.
We have also been shredding pine cones & using that for mulch too...works pretty good!
I don't like ANY of the colored/dyed stuff. It looks so artificial to me. I like natural.

I just put down a truckload of double shredded hardwood mulch. Whew! Hard work!! But that's what we always get and it's about $30 for a yard.

You did get some great advice.


Sparky, thanks for comments about the tree trimmings, I didn't know they did things differently elsewhere. It's always important to check to see not only how they process the mulch but also what the actual source of mulch is. I envy your ability to get good quality mulch in your area. The picture below is from my city. The only person I have seen trim their own trees where I live is my dh. Most people around here use mow and blow gardening services and that is what ends up in the yard clipping cans.

I personally do not care for any colored mulch. That's just my preference. I like my beds to look as natural as possible. I have used cedar mulch for several years. Not red, just the plain. It blends in well, I like the smell and it looks natural. I have clay soil so I can easily work it into the soil later and it decomposes well. It is also reasonably priced in our area and readily available.