Hi there,

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.

I believe they are called Castlewellan Gold.

Here's a link to a photo.
http://www.ballarat.net/avalon/cypress.htm

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.

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. He
said the best thing to do is to throw them away. or if I wanted to use them,
to put them in compost bins and wait for 12 months.

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