Pine Vs Hardwood Mulch

Last year i took a job working for another company when i thought i was going to sell my business.

Pine vs hardwood mulch. Mulch performs a key role in an attractive healthy garden or landscape but the array of choices can prove daunting. Hardwood mulch is often made of oak but may be compiled of a mixture of hardwoods. Like pine straw wood mulch insulates soil during cold temps and cools it during the summer heat. Pine needles are acidic.

Pine needles are less expensive and go further. Pine bark mulch is a popular variety that is usually less expensive than other mulches yet still provides the benefits of moisture retention soil conditioning and weed prevention. I even use sifted pine bark mulch to get pieces around 1 8 to 1 4 to mix into bonsai soil with small river rock turface. Despite the name hardwood mulches actually decompose faster in the landscape than cedar or pine bark mulch owing to a higher cellulose content.

Hardwood mulch comes in a wide array of varieties and colors from hardwood to pine to cedar to cypress and then from warm red tones to rich browns to the deepest black. It breaks down quicker than pine straw so it seems to not last as long. So your mulch is going to breakdown faster than hardwood. Colored wood mulch is often made from recycled wood that can contain objectionable additives including arsenic from pressure treated wood and is not always 100 hardwood pressure treated wood containing arsenic was phased out a decade ago by the epa but old crates and pallets may still be entering the recycling stream.

Hardwood mulches are derived from the shredded or chipped bark and heartwood of trees including oak poplar and maple. Pine bark and hardwood mulches make up just two. On a positive note properly manufactured hardwood mulch releases alkaline benefits to soil as it decomposes raising the ph level a bit. Well pine wood is softwood.

However they do biodegrade more quickly and therefore need to be replenished more frequently which offsets. If budget is an important consideration then pine straw is a great choice. Believe me i know first hand. You may need to amend soil to counteract this if your plants have a strong preference.

Hardwood mulch decomposes more slowly so it may not require two applications each year. And pine is generally less weight than hardwood so when it rains the rain will build up under the mulch and it will wash away. Nonetheless this price benefit is noticeable only in the short term. Hardwood mulch is available at lowe s home depot so i have used it but pine bark is the most plentiful.

To provide you with a better understanding of the two here is a close look at the different factors and the way the two are similar or different. It also comes in many sizes from shredded to large nuggets.