On 17 Apr 2003 01:05:22 GMT, WESmkdn (Ablang) wrote:

When transplanting new young trees, it is recommended to surround it with
wood chips or organic mulch (to keep away weeds from competing for soil
nutrients).

Are there any other things that can substitute for mulch? How about
shredded paper or newspaper pages?

"Oh it's true! It's damn true!" -- WWE & Olympic Gold medalist, Kurt Angle
There are many benefits of mulch besides reduced competition. Mulch
blankets soil, moderating temperature extremes and reducing
evaporation of moisture. This is true of stones, paper, bottle caps
or whatever you may try.

Organic mulch has added benefits that inorganic material doesn't. As
it breaks down, it feeds the soil (and the beneficial organisms that
live there). The increase in organic material and insect/worm
activity lessens soil compaction and increases porosity, which helps
with air and water penetration--both vital to roots.

Paper is technically organic, but everything has been removed from it
except the fibrous part. Thus, not much nutritive value there. But I
think the bigger concern is how it is applied. If you layer sheets of
paper over the soil, you greatly reduce water penetration to the root
ball. When trees first get planted, they have to get water into that
original root ball until they can spread roots into the native soil.
If sheets of paper shed this water outside the root ball, the tree may
die before this can happen. Shredded paper seems an okay choice to
me, though I'd still prefer compost, wood chips, bark, or some
combination thereof.

The ISA has a brochure about planting and establishing trees at the
consumer info link below in my sig.

Good luck,

Keith Babberney
ISA Certified Arborist
For more info about the International Society of Arboriculture, please visit http://www2.champaign.isa-arbor.com/.
For consumer info about tree care, visit http://www2.champaign.isa-arbor.com/.../consumer.html