Type of mulch

[bmh1202]

Hello all. New to the site, but have gained a ton of info. My question is this. I have an account that wants several beds weeded and cleaned up for winter. No problem here, but they also want them mulched. I've always thought that this was more of an early season thing to do. I'm going to do it because they're paying, but I was wondering what type of milch might be best? Shredded, composted material or doesn't it really matter that much. Thanks for any input.

[mdb landscaping]

i seem to find that spruce mulch works the best for keeping the weeds down. it seems to hold the color longer than the pine too. if they want to pay a little more, than cedar would be a good choice as well.

[MATTHEW]

I have been mulching for years and its usually the same thing every year with different types of mulch. Lokks great for 2 months. Then the color fades a bit. Then it starts to decompose. Then by the fall, it is colorless and 3/4 gone. Same with all the other Co's jobs, too. But this year I switched to a new type of mulch. It is made up of pallets that are chipped and stained. The shape is very uniform. Small slivers fairly thin. About 1/4-1/2" wide and 1-1/2 to 2-1/2" long. Comes in 5 colors. EVERY last customer is extremely happy with it. Right now it looks like it was just done last week! I know it will not rot and add much organic material to the soil, but I think I might stick with it. And it is only $16.00 per yard. It is called Earth Tech.

[GLS]

Generally, the homeowner decides what kind they want. I would give them suggestions and what each type of mulch is good for. Many people choose cypress because it doesn't have bugs, but I would go hardwood. It keeps its color longer than ceder.

[1MajorTom]

Well first off, I would suggest looking thru the phone book and finding the phone numbers of a couple of suppliers in your area.
Give them a call to see what kinds they still have available.

The supplier that we use is already closed for the season.
If the customer has no preference, we normally use double shredded.

Different suppliers will carry different grades and types of mulch. A good distributor will carry good hard wood mulch, different colors, black, blue, brown, red. The texture of the mulch is important too. It will reflect on the quality of the job. For example, if the mulch tends to be mostly chipped pallets and railroad ties with some dirt added in, this will reflect on your job. (Don't laugh, there is one supplier around here that mixes his mulch with mostly dirt.)

So for you to get started on this job, you have to check to see what is still available in your area.

[kutnkru]

Jodi I have never seen a blue mulch. Is this shade closer to a royal blue or lighter like a sky blue???


The Norm seems to be to mulch as early in the spring as possible.

I however, like to mulch in early September thru mid October. The plant materials can benefit from the nutrient value during the winter months, and then it gets "re-fluffed" as spring clean-ups are performed.

I personally like the way a fall mulching looks if there is no snow on the ground (mild winters lately here). You can still see somewhat of a pattern on the turf and yet the mulching just adds that extra touch.

Kind of like a winter advertisment.
Kris

[Albemarle Lawn]

Consider it a blessing-

In the spring you may be so swamped with work you will wish you had it done.

Do you mow grass? If you do remeber spring is mad season and you won't have time for much else.

Ken

[Craig Turf Management]

There are many different types of mulch available out there. Many kinds of mulch will do basically the same job. Mulch helps keep weeds in check, holds moisture in the bed, beautifies the bed, etc. What I normally do, is provide mulch samples to my clients, labeled in 1 gallon ziplock bags. Once they have made their choice, the samples are returned to me. My mulch suppliers give me the samples, even the plastic bags. Through experience ,I know that some varieties of mulch work better in some applications than others, and I won't allow my client to make a mistake.
Take care, Bill!

[johnhenry]

I also been mulching for years and it all looks good for about 2 or three months. Then it starts to fade. I prefer cypress to use over pine or cedar. I have been using black oak mulch alot this year. My accounts really like it. When I laid it down this fall with yellow mums it looked like a freshly weeded garden. There is a company out of St Louis MO that make a rubber mulch. There motto is never mulch again. They come in a lot of different colors, green, blue purple, black. It's expensive at $12.00 a bag.
Hope this helps:D

[George777]

Many have already stated there is a bunch of different types of mulch available. I think it might depend on your customer's pocket book as to what you may be limited to. Down hear in the south most go with pinestraw. It is cheap and it does the job of insulating the plants for the winter. Come back in spring and give them another back for the summer.

[1MajorTom]

Quote: Jodi I have never seen a blue mulch. Is this shade closer to a royal blue or lighter like a sky blue???


Kris, actually I had first read about blue mulch here at LS.
Then this year we went to a new supplier and he was carrying it.
No it was not like a royal blue. A lot more paler, hard to explain the exact hue. Maybe more like a grayish teal color, but it was not vivid.

[Atlantic Lawn]

I have seen the colored much around here lately. I really can't stand the stuff, if the customer wants it I try to discourage them.It just doesn't look natural. We use doubled shredded cypress or hardwood.Nice color and texture. Gee I just hate to think what comes next,purple or pink mulch, then fake shrubs that look great from the road ? Let's throw some artifical flowers in those beds too.As for me,I'll try to keep the landscaping as natural as I can. Guess I'm gettin' old guys...sorry

[dj'slawnservice]

What does everyone feel is the longest lasting mulch?
And which do you think has the best ability to not wash out in the rain?
Have used 3 different suppliers here and gotten 3 different answers to these questions

[MOW ED]

Up here we have a few choices, The city has a mulch pile that is free for the taking but that is made from any and all trees that are sent thru the tub grinder. Its good for around trees in a field or in an area that just has to be capped.
The cheapest to buy is hardwood mulch which is basically trees, boxes and pallets ground up. There is better looking grade of this also. I have found the hardwood to be ok for economy but it doesn't hold up to well here, it also has a tendancy to wash away as the pieces are bigger and they float. They tend to take on a dark gray color after a couple weeks.

The best jobs use higher grade of cedar mulch. I found that it holds up well on the mounds as it meshes together therefore it doesn't float away nearly as much as the hardwood. It smells good to put down and it is relatively uniform in size as well as very light.

I have seen all the other "bagged" mulches and they look good when first put down but soon float or blow away. (nuggets, cocoa bean shells)

There is very good money in it if you can get the work and the results are always good right after you are done. The nice thing is that in 2 years it needs a cap because of the natural decomposition and there is more money to be made.

[jkelton]

How many of you guys have used the colored pallet material for mulch? What are the pros/cons to this material? Are your customers receptive of using this material, or do they care? This is my theory: Seems to me that it would depend on what the customers perception of what the mulch should do for them - if they want a vivid color that lasts throughout the season, but do not care about the negative effects of using pure wood material (i.e., nitrogen depletion, increased termite activity, etc.), then the colored pallet mulch is for them. If they are looking for the actual physical benefits of mulch for their beds and are satisfied with losing the color and eventual decomposition of the mulch, than the traditional bark mulch is for them.
Do any of you see this correlation in your area? Does this divide generally lie between commercial and residential accounts (i.e., colored material for commercial; bark for residential)?

[walker-talker]

I put the colored mulch down at my house and I am pleased with it. That was 2 years ago and has faded a little bit, but hold color well. It stays down and does not blow away easy. Here it is $30 a yard. A heaping truck bed (long bed) is 2 yards (maybe a tad more).
Matt

[Craig Turf Management]

There's a big notice hanging in the office of my mulch supplier warning about the dyed red mulch attracting termites. This particular vendor doesn't sell the dyed red anymore. Have you heard of this? Any truth to it?
Thanks, Bill!

[Ric]

Here in the bug capital of America we try and use cypress mulch or eucalyptus because of termites another creepe crawler. How ever pine is popular even though it draws termite. I agree with the post about texture of mulch to control weeds. At the Orlando growers show they were pushing dyed rubber tire mulch. It looked good and you could see steel belt in them. I ask if the rusting of the steel belt discolored the mulch and was told no problem.

Major Tom and all you other Pittsburgh boys should get a laugh out of Fire Lite stone. It is slag shipped straight from Pgh. Fire Lite stone sells for $93.00 a yard. To think as a kid growing up in Pgh they couldn't give the stuff away, now I am paying big bucks for it. Fire lite is real popular, last job I had to wait two weeks for a delivery. Slag for you non-Pgh is the resdue of burn coal out of the steel mill blast furnace.

[jkelton]

Originally posted by Craig Turf Management
There's a big notice hanging in the office of my mulch supplier warning about the dyed red mulch attracting termites. This particular vendor doesn't sell the dyed red anymore. Have you heard of this? Any truth to it?
Thanks, Bill!

I've heard the same thing from other sources, both verbal and in publications. I believe the reason bark does not attract termites is because this is indeed nature's own barrier to termites for trees and termites perfer the wood vs. the bark. But I have seen a few university articles that dispel the relationship between wood mulch and increase in termite activity, e.g.:

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2001/5-4-2001/mulch.html

I'm not sure who is correct; I plan to do more research on this subject to determine which side is correct. Any information you guys have would be appreciated.

[Ric]

Jkelton

I am lic in termite & fumigation here in Fla. I can positively tell you from personal experance that Pine and hard wood draws termites.

[jkelton]

Ric,
Thanks for the confirming my suspicions about this. Wood mulch (particuliarly the shredded pallet material) has become popular in my area in the last couple of years. I tend to like a good quality natural bark mulch rather than the red dyed pallet material, but one of the largest complaints I have heard about the bark mulch (other than the color fading) is the odor. Do any of you guys know and/or use a product that would neutralize the smell of fresh mulch? It does not bother me, but I know several people who do not freshen their mulch as often as they would like due to the ammonia odor it emits.
Also, has anyone used bark mulch that has been "color enhanced"? The same coloring process as the colored pallet mulch is used on bark mulch (except in lower dye concentrations) to enhance the looks and provide longer-lasting color for the bark. If anyone has come across this, please let me know what your experience with this particuliar type of product.