Wood chips

[leechmann]

I'm thinking of putting some wood chips under the small spruce trees that I planted. Wondering if it matters if I use fresh wood chips of if they have to be seasoned? Also wondering if it matters what kind of wood it is, example chipped popple or jack pine? Any help would be appreciated.

Thank You

[deerminator]

Don't use freshly chipped wood. It needs to rot before you apply it. I believe it has something to do with the nitrogen but fresh wood chips are bad to use with plants unless you want to get rid of them. Someone else can chime in with the scientific reasoning.

[Tom7227]

I've used fresh wood and it looks good for a year or two and then really starts to pull the nitrogen out of the soil. We had it in out flower gardens and things sort of petered out after 2 years. You can't do much unless you use a MiracleGro type product that you put directly on the plant. The disappeared after about 3 years. You might want to get some of the fancy stuff from the garden store if you want a different result. I'm not sure what it would do to a pine tree.

[echo2010]

they have rubber wood chips available that will last forever

[flyfisher03]

I've found the best chips are red cedar. They last for quite a while and the cedar contains oils that will deter many insects. As far as fresh or seasoned I'm not really sure.

[LwnmwnMan2]

they have rubber wood chips available that will last forever

I personally would shy away from the rubber mulch. Would you REALLY want shredded tires all over your property if they weren't a pretty color?

[deerminator]

Indeed its that fresh wood chips rob the soil of much needed nitrogen as they decompose. I did a search on Gardening by the Yard on HGTV where I saw this once and the host reccomends letting wood chips decompose for at least 6 months from shredding before using them as mulch.

[deerminator]

Also, if you want to have that "fancy" wood chip look from the garden center on a budget, you can apply 3 inches of homemade mulch (save up all your leaves and clippings over the year) and then an inch or so of store or nursery bought chips. Plus, I have nothing scientific go back this up, but I would think true mulch - a mixture of decomposing leaves, banana peels, grass clippings, coffee grounds, and so on - would be more beneifical for your trees than simple wood chips.

Final tip. Often, it's cheaper to just buy the wood chip bags at the big box store than go through the nursery when you figure in the delivery charge, etc., but having someone from the nursery back up with a dump truck full of chips or blow it in for you is a whole lot easier than hauling and cutting open the bags.

[croixflats]

Ive never had a problem with new chips under newly planted trees in the 25 years of landscaping.

New wood chips or seasoned they still are going to decompose. As for the kind of chips shredded will decompose faster than from a chipper. If you only chip a foot or two from the drip line of the tree the amount of nitrogen depletion is negligable. You dont have to pile it on just have enough to keep the weeds down and keep moister in. If your concerned with any mulch you use throw some 10-10-10 fertilizer down to supplement the loss.

[pushbutton]

i really like using the "shredded" varieties....they bind better than the chips and create more weed repulsion and blow around less. similarly they are less likely to remove nutrients from the soil. downside is you have to top it off every few years or so.

[leechmann]

I found some bags of Cyprus mulch at a resonable price. Would that be a good solution. I looking for something to hold the moisture around the base of the trees.

Thank You

[PEATMOSS]

If there is a log home builder in your area, they can be a great source of quality, free mulch. The bark that is peeled from the logs is often piled on some part of the builders property and can be easily loaded onto a pickup or trailer with a silage fork. The builder by my place actually loads my truck for me with a front end loader and is happy to have the stuff removed.