"sockiescat" wrote in message
...

i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.


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sockiescat

For some reason, colored mulch gets uglier about every 30 minutes, and it
seems to have a half-life roughly equal to plutonium's. There are so many
better options. Avoid bark chunks, too. Depending on the prevailing winds,
it sometimes blows right out of the beds when it's dry. You'll be forever
picking up the chunks and tossing them back into the beds. Shredded bark
tends to mat down and stay put.

Cedar bark can look a bit too perfect when it's new, but it weathers to a
duller color in a matter of weeks, and looks pretty much neutral. Blends
with any colors it's near. Leaves from your own trees can work well, too,
although they stay put better if you run the mower over them to chop them a
bit. If you have a bag attachment for you mower, you can get a nice blend of
leaves & grass to use as mulch. But, avoid using leaves if you have any
trees with persistent disease problems. Those leaves should be bagged and
discarded.