Let plants ‘go 360’ as mulch
Question: What’s the best mulch for use in Texas?
C.A., Arlington
Answer: The best mulch for any site is recycled plant material (leaves, twigs, spent plants, buds, bark, flowers and other plant debris) that grew on the same property. That’s the way nature does it. The second best choice is purchased shredded native cedar. It smells great, helps control insect pests and builds soil beautifully.
Third in line is shredded hardwood bark. Cypress is not high on my list because it doesn’t break down well. We want mulch to break down. That’s what creates the true natural food for feeding microbes and plant roots.
Pine needles make a good mulch but look a little out of place when used on property where no pines are growing.
Lava gravel makes an effective mulch that has the extra benefit of keeping squirrels and cats out because they don’t like walking on it. Looking more harsh than organic mulches and not breaking down into humus are the negative points.
I’m not a fan of shredded rubber products, dyed wood chips or pine bark. It’s interesting that the most popular mulch material, pine bark, is not very good. First, it won’t stay in place: It washes and blows away. What does stay in the beds breaks down into a mucky material that does not help plant growth much. Here’s a mulch comment from a reader who recently heard me talk on the
subject:
K.H. in Dallas says: I would like to amend your recommendation of second-best mulch source to suggest using the leaves that your neighbors so kindly bag and leave at the curb. A picture of someone hauling these off would be very funny in the slide show. I’ve done it for years. I have no problem with this idea, but grind the leaves with a mower before spreading them on the garden. They will stay in place better and break down to feed plants more quickly.
Question: I have an old oak tree outside my kitchen. It’s quite large and stands above the roofline. Late last summer, a limb split from the body of the tree and left a snag about 2 1/2 feet high and 24 inches around.
I don’t know how deep the cavity inside the snag is, but I’d like to know whether I should treat it in some way. I’d hate to lose the tree as it shades the house and part of it hangs over the kitchen.
S.L., Dallas
Answer: Cut the rough snag off just as if making a pruning cut to remove a limb. Be careful to preserve the swollen tissue or branch collar that is part of the trunk. Do not apply pruning paint or sealant.
See the photos under “branch collar” in the Information Center of
www.dirtdoctor.com. I’ve included photos of a proper cut and a bad cut.
Question: There is a squirrel gnawing the bark off of a pecan tree in my yard. It doesn’t seem to be eating the bark because there is a layer several inches deep on the ground under the tree.
Will this debarking damage the tree? If so, how can I stop the squirrel?
E.H., Dallas
Answer: You might try spraying the trunk with hot-pepper tea, but the damage is probably mostly cosmetic.
Question: How and when should I prune apricot trees?
I.E., Dallas
Answer: All fruit trees should be pruned late in the winter just before bud break. Pruning earlier can cause early blooming and late freeze damage, which apricot is subject to anyway.