Does cedar mulch kill plants and shrubs???

[sockiescat]

i have read so many things that say that cedar mulch slowly kills plant

and shrubs by leeching the nitrogen and nutrients out of the soil. i was wondering what anyones opinion would be on this as i had though

of using cedar mulch around my spireas, hostas and a lot of othe things that i am hopefully going to get planted this fall and now im a wondering if i would be better off not adding it to the beds :(. any input would be greatly appreciated. i dont want to make a huge mistake :(. thanks again, sockiescat:)

-- sockiescat

[Wolf Kirchmeir]

First, check on whether hostas etc want acid or neutral or basic

9alkaline) soils. I'm not going to do the search for you: use Google. You will learn how to use that amazing resources, and information you find for yourself tends to stick better than information someone else has found for you. Beware! Googling can become a hobby in itself -- even an addiction. :-)

Having said that, I'll give you some information anyway. Consistent I am not. :-) Who was it said "Consistency is the bugaboo of small minds"?

Cedar mulch acidifies the soil, so it can be bad for most of the plants we grow in our gardens, which prefer neutral or even slightly alkaline soils. However, slightly acid soils won't harm them, so mixing cedar cuttings into the mulch won't hurt. If you're worried about the acidifying effect, add some agricultural limestone to the mix, or sprinkle some on top of the mulch.

However, cedar and other evergreen mulches are good for rhododendrons, for example, and of course for any evergreen tree or shrubs, all of which prefer acid soils. Hydrangeas tolerate both acid and basic soils; in fact, they produce different coloured flowers depending on pH (the measure of acidity/alkalinity.)

NB that acid fertilisers are available, they're usually marked "for evergreens" or some such. Read the label.

You should have a soil analysis done on your garden, so you have a general idea of what kind of soil(s) you have. Kits for home use are available, and in some states and provinces the local agricultural support agencies will do an analysis for free or a nominal cost. You could also google on "soil types".

HTH

[Sparky Organic]

There is no need at all to worry about this. ALL mulch sucks up some nitrogen in the decaying process, but in good soil it's not enough to concern yourself with. And once the mulch does break down, it actually provides more nitrogen, so the only real concern would be when you first put mulch onto new soil. I've never had a bit of a problem.

I would advise - as always - to not let mulch come into direct contact with stalks or trunks of plants. Mulch is moist, and so can be a vector for fungal diseases if it comes directly into contact with plants.

[sockiescat]

Wolf Kirchmeir sockiescat wrote:-

i have read so many things that say that cedar mulch slowly kill plants and shrubs by leeching the nitrogen and nutrients out of the soil. i was wondering what anyones opinion would be on this as i ha thought of using cedar mulch around my spireas, hostas and a lot of other things that i am hopefully going to get planted this fall and now im am wondering if i would be better off not adding it to the beds :(. any input would be greatly appreciated. i dont want to make a huge mistake :(. thanks again, sockiescat:).-

First, check on whether hostas etc want acid or neutral or basic

9alkaline) soils. I'm not going to do the search for you: use Google. You will learn how to use that amazing resources, and information you find for yourself tends to stick better than information someone else has found for you. Beware! Googling can become a hobby in itself - even an addiction. :-)

Having said that, I'll give you some information anyway. Consistent am not. :-) Who was it said "Consistency is the bugaboo of small minds"?

Cedar mulch acidifies the soil, so it can be bad for most of the plant

we grow in our gardens, which prefer neutral or even slightly alkalin

soils. However, slightly acid soils won't harm them, so mixing cedar cuttings into the mulch won't hurt. If you're worried about the acidifying effect, add some agricultural limestone to the mix, or sprinkle some on top of the mulch.

However, cedar and other evergreen mulches are good for rhododendrons

for example, and of course for any evergreen tree or shrubs, all of which prefer acid soils. Hydrangeas tolerate both acid and basic soils

in fact, they produce different coloured flowers depending on pH (the measure of acidity/alkalinity.)

NB that acid fertilisers are available, they're usually marked "for evergreens" or some such. Read the label.

You should have a soil analysis done on your garden, so you have a general idea of what kind of soil(s) you have. Kits for home use are available, and in some states and provinces the local agricultural support agencies will do an analysis for free or a nominal cost. You could also google on "soil types".

HTH

thanks for the information wolf u answered what i needed to know as t whether it would harm the plants or not so i will look for another wa to add a mulch but will also mix the cedar into whatever else i use a a top dressing and include some lime as well;). i did look on google thats where i got the information that i include here some people said that it was bad and others said it was okay so i was rather confusing which way to go :( and at the cost of some of m plants i sure didnt want to be making any stupid mistakes and end u losing them :(. so thanks again for your input and yup i will get a soil sample ki also and see whats there and whats not ;). cyaaaaa, sockiescat:)

-- sockiescat

[sockiescat]

thanks for your posting as well sparky:). i did a google search on th

hostas as wolf mentioned and it looks like i will be able to use bot yours and wolfs ideas to help me with putting a good mulch around m plants and shrubs and yup i will remember to not let it come int contact with the stems and trunks ;). thanks again to both of you for your help its greatly appreciated:). cyaaaa, sockiescat:

-- sockiescat

[Bev]

replying to Sparky Organic, Bev wrote: Is it okay to put cedar mulch down in fall for ferns? The mulch will probably cover some ferns as some have dyed back already. I was told it may suffercate the ferns.

[larrywidebutt]

My guess is that Larry is a sap.