What to mulch my palms with?

[JayW]

I'm wanting to mulch them to help keep the grass from growing into them. I'm thinking of using pine straw on these: Sabal Palmettos, Silver Saw Palmettos, Sabal Minors (Louisiana and Florida forms).

And using Cypress mulch for a needle palm and a Bismark.

Reason being... the first palms are growing out in a filed near pine trees on my property and the other 2 are in my back yard, near the house where I have Cypress mulch in the flower beds. Any recommendations or should I even be mulching them? I used to use old leaves on my other palms but recently moved and have started all over again. Any help or info is greatly appreciated! I don't want to do anything that might damage the plants and they are all newly planted in case that matters.

Jay

[Central Floridave]

Any mulch would be good, of course, but cypress shouldn't be used as it is depleting the cypress tree.

http://www.saveourcypress.org/

[jayfro6]

I was going to say the same thing, but Central Floridave beat me to it. I'm a forester, and I like to support the forest products industry, but I've seen too many pondcypress swamps logged for mulch at the wrong time. It's one of the more delicate ecosystems that just doesn't recover for a long time without careful preparation. You can replant cypress trees but the success rate is really low.

[JayW]

Hmm, I know it's called "cypress mulch" but I was thinking it wasn't really "cypress"? Maybe it's just the place I bought mine from before, for my flower beds, but it looked like it had all kinds of stuff in with it. I know there were what looked to be ground up pallets, pine needles and small branches, scrap wood... I found all kinds of stuff mixed in with it and was thinking the term "cypress mulch" was just an old term for the new stuff which was scrap wood these days? I'll have to look into what I bought before and find out exactly what it is. Technically, it just said "mulch" and it was NOT the red stuff.

[FRITO]

JayW any mulch will work! (most is chosen based on cosmetics - color and texture, etc)

But I agree I dont by the nice refined cypress mulch as it depletes the natural stuff, I recieve FREE dumptruck loads from the local tree trimmings that are put through the shredder. not commercial grade but works great and composts down nicely!

pine needles work well also and are a nice way to recycle them.

the 'cypress mulch' you may have seen that not died red that looks like scrap wood is probably mulch wood shavings and scrap from a saw mill nearby. I have seen this advertised in north florida before from saw mills. usually cheaper tan the bagged comercial grade stuuff that is died colors

edit- spelling

Edited April 13, 2009 by FRITO

[_Keith]

I am using Pine mulch on mine. The ecological price of Cypress Mulch is a bit too much for me to stomach.

[JayW]

the 'cypress mulch' you may have seen that not died red that looks like scrap wood is probably mulch wood shavings and scrap from a saw mill nearby.

That must be what I have. It was advertised as "Mulch" and I went there and bought 2 tractor loads of it for just under $40. I noticed when I put it out it had all kinds of wood in it, like scrap woods. Works great though... I just wanted to make sure there weren't any problems with mulching the palms that I mentioned above.

Thanks for the info, guys!

Jay

Edited April 13, 2009 by JayW

[Gan Eden]

Has anybody used pea straw/hay as a mulch around palms? As pea are nitrogen fixers and when dried I have been told the straw still retains the nitrogen, is this true?

[ghar41]

Ive used different forest products over the years, they've worked well in adding organic material to my sandy loam, as they've broken down. They can be costly, and can be harvested in ways that do not benefit the environment.

The best soil additive that Ive found in the past few years is coffee grounds. It should be mixed with another product, and composted, with leaves ect. My local Starbucks is always glad to "let me take out the trash." They don't have to lift a finger, and I get free, green mulch. Your local coffee house may be as agreeable. Its green and it smells awesome.

http://www.weekendgardener.net/gardening-q...ober-100710.htm

I have noticed a favorable improvement in the quality of my soil, especially around tender perrenials. I am certain my palms are benefitting a great deal. It may be beneficial in helping control slugs, snails and scale, but worms feed on it.

http://www.cycad.org/documents/Broome-Coffee-2007.pdf

[redbeard917]

I also use free mulch. I get it from the town dump. It sits in big piles so it's partially composted. In the front flower beds I cover it with store-bought pine bark or pine straw for a neater appearance.

[gsn]

The only problem with free mulch from either the tree people or the city dump, is if anything that was chipped/shredded had any pathogens (ie: fusarium, ganoderma,TPPD)

you might introduce it into your garden?

On the other hand I guess there is nothing to say what you buy, is sterile or free from these pathogens either?

[FRITO]

Scott, that is a good point you bring up, however here in north florida where palms are not common, ive never heard or seen of any palms with Fusarium or gandoderma, in South florida I would be nervous introducing a dumptruck load of chipped mulch to my garden.

[DoomsDave]

Up to a point, more mulch is better, so I try to use whatever's cheapest and most readily available.

As it rots down, add more, keep adding.

On the other hand, I wouldn't like to knowingly use something that was harvested in a nasty way, by destroying a fragile ecosystem, or through the use of slave labor . . . . .

[Kathryn]

I used cypress mulch in the past because I mistakenly thought it was from cypress lumber scraps. Since I discovered that cypress trees are actually harvested for mulch, I switched to pine bark. So far I've only been able to find it in bags. It is a little more expensive than bags of cypress, but it is darker and looks nicer. Also, it doesn't breakdown as fast, which is great for me because I don't need to amend my soil and the pine bark lasts longer.

[JayW]

I used cypress mulch in the past because I mistakenly thought it was from cypress lumber scraps. Since I discovered that cypress trees are actually harvested for mulch, I switched to pine bark. So far I've only been able to find it in bags. It is a little more expensive than bags of cypress, but it is darker and looks nicer. Also, it doesn't breakdown as fast, which is great for me because I don't need to amend my soil and the pine bark lasts longer.

I ended up going with the pine bark, too... they were out of the pine straw at the place I tried, so I went with the bark. Looks good though! I'll try and post pics sometime.

[Moose]

Pine Bark was a good decision! Orgainic mulch also helps the roots stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer because of its insulating benefit. You are on sandy soil and you need to add orgnic material to your soil. It also gives your fertilizer some thing to stick to rather tahn being washed through. I mulch between 4-6 inches and have very good results. Fairchild Botanical Garden mulches and very heavily on many species 8-12 inches. Adding orgainic material to your soil helps to acidify your soil (slightly) and with our calcareous soil in Florida, any addition of acidity can only be a good thing. I use coffee grounds around my acid loving palms with good results. I also lightly dress these palms with Acid loving plant fertilizer between light dressings of alm Special (about every 8 weeks).

PS. I am not a fan of rubber mulch. Great for the kids playgrounds but it does not do anything to add organic material to the soil!

Good luck, you are doing the right thing.

[Gan Eden]

Pea straw anyone?

[Jonathan]

Yes of course use Pea straw!

Its perfect, the nitrogen fix is a big bonus - but its horribly expensive, and breaks down a bit too fast.

But if you have the means - by all means!!

[Gan Eden]

Yes of course use Pea straw!

Its perfect, the nitrogen fix is a big bonus - but its horribly expensive, and breaks down a bit too fast.

But if you have the means - by all means!!

$14 for a bale here, doesnt seem that expensive when mulch is about $100 a cube! lol

[PalmGuyWC]

I use horse litter for mulch. There are lots of stables in my area and it's free. The stables are glad to get rid of it and they have a tractor ready to load your truck.

I wish I could get my hands on pine straw. My folks lived in Waycross Ga, and had pines growing on the property. It made wonderful mulch and was slow to break down and it enriched the sandy soil. We used to pile it a couple of feet deep and it would soon pack down and keep weeds down too.

Dick

[Breadfruit Bill]

I just bought some bags of Eucalyptus mulch... Farm grown and produced sustainably (at least sustainably enough to wirte that on the bag!) It was 3 bucks a bag qas compared to the 2 bucks for the cypress but I only have to buy half a dozen bags, my yards is tiny!

[Moose]

It also claims to repell insects as well. We are in the sub-tropics so I am sceptical as to that claims, perhaps at first but as it begins to break down???

[JayW]

A few pics of some of my palms with the new pine bark...

Sabal Minor

Sabal Minor

Sabal Palmetto

Silver Saw Palmetto

[Kathryn]

Your palms look great with pine bark Jay. It looks like you have a lot of room to expand you plantings there.

[cobra2326]

Your palms look great with pine bark Jay. It looks like you have a lot of room to expand you plantings there.

At least in our area, Cypress stands are protected, so I doubt that the mulch at Home Depot/Lowe's/Wal Mart comes from those. Are we 100% certain that the mulch doesn't come from scrap or sustainable sources?

[JayW]

Your palms look great with pine bark Jay. It looks like you have a lot of room to expand you plantings there.

Thanks!

Yes, we have 2 1/2 acres worth to expand! I have quite a few more that I didn't show, but there's plenty of room.