Xref: news7 rec.gardens.roses:89844

Jim S asked:

Is it bad to use cedar chips for groundcover on rosebeds? Does the wood
chip leach nitrogen when it's on the ground surface? And, is the
cedar-water runoff bad for roses?

Any kind of wood will consume nitrogen from the soil. It needs
nitrogen in order to decompose. The surface that is in touch with the
soil well eat nitrogen and the whole pile will eat the nitrogen from
the fertilizers that you apply to the top.

If you know this going in though, it is OK to use wood chips as mulch
as long as you regularly add nitrogen to the soil.

The cedar will probably actually keep insects away a bit. Whether it
keeps beneficial insects away as well is unknown by me.

Bob Bauer
Zone 6 in Salt Lake City
http://www.rose-roses.com/