Save Our Cypress

Living on Earth July 24 2009

Radio Program - More Americans are scrubbing those black crescent moons of soil from under their fingernails. Backyard gardens are making a comeback.

And that means more business at the garden store for soft feathery mulch, much of it made from ground up cypress. Mulch keeps weeds down and the soil moist. But mulch from cypress could have some unintended consequences.

Cypress trees, some of them ancient giants, form an important storm barrier on the Gulf Coast. Now there's a move to stop the sale of fiber from those trees. From Louisiana, Andrew Stelzer has the story.

Listen to the story

Andrew Stelzer
LOE.org

PolkVoice July 12, 2009

Cypress mulch is widely available and inexpensive, but it doesn't necessarily perform the best, and there are growing concerns about its use in Florida. Many gardeners have chosen cypress mulch for its supposed insect repellent properties. The University of Florida performed lab tests and found that cypress mulch did not repel termites. To top it off, cypress mulch tends to hold more water than other mulches, making less water available to your plants.

...Cypress forests benefit the environment in many ways: providing habitat for animals, storm surge protection in coastal areas, water filtration, a reservoir for flood water, and as a beautiful part of our natural heritage. Since this tree is very difficult, if not impossible, to reseed after harvest, every acre of cypress that is cut down is another acre lost forever. It is for these reasons that our own Florida Friendly Landscapes program does not recommend the use of cypress mulch.

Master Gardener - Joe Wolf
Polk Voice - Lakeland Florida

Crozet Gazette May 14, 2009

There are a couple of types of mulch I would avoid, however. One is cypress, available in bags at some big-box stores. There is at least one website devoted to the evils of cypress mulch, which has nothing to do with it damaging your plants. The issue: bald cypress is not a particularly common tree, being restricted to southern swamps. It does not regenerate rapidly and is vital to the swamp ecosystem. It is a waste of a good and magnificent tree to grind it up and throw it on your garden.

Charles Kidder - Crozet Gazette
http://www.crozetgazette.com