Eucalyptus mulch

[Phil]

Tom  and Others,,

Thanks for doing the research and providing the links to the inhibitors.  People have posted that their garden seems fine despite Eucalyptus present.   But, remember Matty B's original question.  He gets the stuff for free and is there any risk to it.  There seems to be disagreement, but Matt has a choice.  With all the expense and trouble of locating those desirable plants, why take the chance?  I return to my original comment of penny wise and pound foolish.  Matt, pehaps things will survive with it.  Will they grow optimally?  Who knows.  Stable litter is free (search it out) and shavings are cheap.  

Phil

[MattyB]

Yeah, I'm definately gonna take your advice and stear clear of the Euc.  I didn't know it was going to be Eucalyptus so when the guy delivered it I was a little dissapointed and used most of it up covering up my PVC water main that runs the length of my property.  The remainder I used on the slope pictured in the first pic which is sparsely planted with only a couple of common things.  My neighbor gets stable litter so I'll definately look into that.  Also, I can get horse manure (not cow) delivered for free which I've used in the past.  According to people I've talked to you can plant directly into horse manure if you want because it's not as hot nitrogen wise as cow manure.  I just spread it as a top mulch but the balls of poo tend to roll down the hill if they're not crushed up.  Thanks for all the advice everyone.

[Dave-Vero]

Roger del Moral (ecologist, University of Washington) did his dissertation, back in the 1960s at UC Santa Barbara on Eucalyptus allelopathy.  The live trees pretty clearly kept other plant from growing.  

The "eucalpytus" mulch sold in Florida is usually made from Melaleuca quinquenervia.

[Moose]

On ‎12‎/‎29‎/‎2007‎ ‎8‎:‎46‎:‎00‎, Phil said:

Matt,

I've never heard of any soil preparing company using Eucaplyptus materials in any of their soils.  As bark/cuttings/mulch are so available and cheap from Eucalyptus, one would think they'd use this material if it were a good thing.  I have certainly heard that Eucalyptus oil can discourage growth of plants.  It's sort of reminiscent of the wives tale that "nothing grows below a pepper tree".  Could this to some extent apply to Eucs?   I have big Eucs in my garden area and have always raked up the leaves/debri and sent them off to the dump.  But, here's my point:  The one thing you don't screw up on is your soil.  Sure, free mulch is great.  But how much would it cost to rectify the problem or replace "bad soil" if that proved to be the case?   How would you reverse any problem if it occured?  Is this a case of penny wise, pound foulish?  I can't say for sure, but why take a chance?  You can obtain stable litter for free and I guarantee you that it is far superior to Euc droppings.  You've heard my story about the rich man who "saved" a lot of money by trucking in 100 yards of yellow fill dirt for his garden because it was such a good deal.  Not!!! If it's all about the palms and growth, don't roll the dice.

Phil

When Bill (BS Man about Palms) visited recently at the Searle Brothers Extravagaza, we talked about this very subject. His theory being that Eucalyptus mulch secrets oils that is an inhibitor to plant growth. Not sure if this is true but it makes sense to me. Either way, I will let others do the research, I have not nor do I plan on offering my beloved palms as subjects to be experimented on.

Any thoughts?

[kinzyjr]

I use pine bark mulch or stone almost exclusively.  In the front planter near my sidewalk, I used a layer of Eucalyptus mulch (the chipped stuff), and it didn't seem to slow down the growth of dwarf cavendish bananas, phoenix roebelenii, or cycas revoluta.