Can you use Cypress Much in the soil? I was at Home Depot and no Cedar Mulch, go figure!! Only Royal Garden Cypress Mulch blend.

I prefer not to use cypress mulch, unlike other mulches that are made from lumbering / forestry byproducts-

Cypress mulch is made from ENTIRE GROUND UP TREES, and they don't grow back as fast as the mulch companies are grinding them up:

http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/gardening/mulches.shtml

Environmental issues aside, Cypress is a conifer, and being a conifer it should be safe to use. Further, as cypress is water resistant to decay, it should last for a good while as one of the ingredients in your mix. Another wood mulch that is excellent to use is cedar. I have found that cedar mulch is an excellent ingredient to use for container trees. I have transplanted many of my container tree, (most in 30 gallon containers) into a 50:50 mix of cedar mulch blended with a good potting soil. The drainage, and root zone aeration is exceptional. Cedar is a long lasting wood, very resistant to decay, plus cedar naturally repels insects.. A 2-cu.ft. bag normally sells for under 6 dollars. I recommend it highly. If you purchase a citrus tree from Four Winds Growers the roots come wrapped in cedar, with a note to mix it in with the medium when you plant a container tree. - Millet

Although cypress is a conifer, since it primarily comes from ground up wood, it has a high carbon:nitrogen ratio. Using it mixed with the soil will tie up much of the nitrogen that is applied. I would go with cedar or aged pine bark if you can find them.

Here is a paper that shows cypress, as well as other mulches, and their characteristics.

http://joa.isa-arbor.com/request.asp?JournalID=1&ArticleID=2841&Type=2

babranch I agree with you, I would also go (and actually do go) with cedar. Would't you agree that tying up nitrogen is really not a problem with container dulture, especially with growning citrus, due to the frequency and amount of fertilization that occurs in container culture? - Millet

I recently had the opportunity to tour a commercial citrus nursery. Their fertilizer vendor, Harrells custom mixes their potting medium for them. It was a mix of Cypress Chips, Coir, Peat, & Pearlite. That said, the was primarily a seed starting mix…

They feed their seedlings (rootstocks) with 20-20-20 but have other fertilizers on hand with higher levels of Phosphate and/or Potassium that they use on some of their newly grafted stock to manipulate trunk caliper or tree height to their respective client’s specifications.

Best,

Skinn30a

Millet,

In a commercial nursery I wouldn't see a problem with using a product that ties up nitrogen, but for home container culture I would avoid using it. The only upside to using something with a high C:N ratio is that as the product breaks down it will gradually release the nitrogen to the plant.

In my blueberry nursery I previously used a milled pine bark that had been aged using urea. These plants grew very well, but I eventually quit using it due to rising costs. In a year it had gone from $700/semi load to $1200/load. I found a cheaper source of aged bark ($450/load) but it contained a large amount of milled wood in it. With the newer bark it took me three months longer to have the same marketable size as the urea aged bark, and I had to use about 30% more fertilizer (18-6-12) to get these results.

babranch, interesting you are using 18-6-12. I use a slow release version 18-612 fertilizer manufactured by J.R. Peters. It is especially recommended to be used in a germinating medium for the germination of tree seeds. Its release rate coincides with the growth of the seedlings. Very slow release at first, then increasing as the seedling grows. Seedlings grown in the medium put on about twice the amount of growth in a year without showing any sign of softness.. - Millet

Millet,

The 18-6-12 that I used was a 8-9 month slow release. This was the Scott's Osmocote brand. When I get through with this bag, I'll probably switch to either the JR Peters or a Florikan 16-4-9 270 day release. The Osmocote has been unpredictable at times, sometimes releasing way too fast when I have extremely high temps and have to run a lot of water.

To some extent releasing more nutrition during periods of high temperature, does coincide with greater growth of a plant due to the warmer temperatures. However, I understant your concern. - Millet

I finally got around to buying some mulch to mix with potting soil. Big box store had cedar but it didn't say red or eastern or anything. Also bought some pine bark mulch and cypress because it all looked so good. The cedar does say 100% aromatic so it maybe western cedar. On the way out I had to pass Black Cow velvet mushroom compost. Dang it was all heavy loading into my truck. I am guessing I need to add some lime when I mix up all this fun great smelling stuff. How much lime ? Maybe one measuring cup for each 2 or 3 cu. ft. bag I mix up.......

On a related question. I'm 61 and farmed a long time with my daddy. He had German agronomy teacher at Auburn after WW ll that loved to tell him that lime made the father rich but the son broke ( maybe poor ) . I have asked several agr teachers for a modern interpretation. Nobody ever heard it before and nobody gives it any creditability that I know of. I can't believe daddy did either , especially after winning the war. I guess he meant short term rewards but long time loses. Has anybody ever heard this or thinks it makes any sense?

Can I use hydrated lime? It is much stronger. Not supposed to use it in my fishing pond but I did and it was fine. It will burn you up too.

Thanks, Tom