"YMC" wrote in message
...
Hi there,

Its Autumn here in Melbourne, Australia. I have a row of conifer pine
trees - medium size - dark green leaves. They are about 6 metres tall and
are due for a good prune back.

Good questions and I am glad you asked them questions. I have distanced my
self from other posters here. They might tell you anything.

Pruning
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...ing/index.html



I thought of lopping off the top of the trees- mulching them including the
leaves finely - and then using them as mulch for my rose garden. I'm
allergic to the pine leaves so I'm getting tree pruner to do the job.

Dr. Shigo always insisted not to use fresh chips because of disease.
However composted for a years was greatly helpful if applied correctly. Do
not use fresh chips. The protoplasm from the living parenchyma cells gets
smeared all over the place and attract undesirables that can and do do nasty
things above as well as below ground. Compost them in a pile for a years
and then here are mulching suggestions based on tree biology.
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/M/mulch.html


One old grizzled tree pruner however warned me that using fresh conifer
pine mulch was a very bad idea and will kill the roses or any other plant.

It is a bad idea. One I used once until my professor in tree biology that
was a mycologist stooped me.


Is using conifer mulch for the rose garden a bad idea? I didn't realize it
was toxic.

Not if you compost it for a year or more. The longer the better.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Forester & Tree Expert
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.