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Fruit & Orchards

Mulching Potted Trees?

16 years ago

I have a lemon, lime, orange, and two blueberries in pots. I had some leftover bark from other beds and I used it to mulch them. I was reading that bark can leach nitrogen from the soil as the bark tries to break down. Would this be true for these trees? The bark is not mixed in but just lying on the surface.

Would cocounut coir be a better mulch?

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Comments (3)

thisisme
16 years ago
Bark is used for this purpose all the time and should not be a problem. I have lots and lots of trees in 15-25 gallon pots and they all have 2"-4" of bark mulch.
ashleysf
16 years ago
For citrus, the mulch should not touch the trunk at any time as this will lead to rotting. So, make sure that you move the mulch away from the trunk.
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Michael
16 years ago
Don't worry, bark won't cause N to leach from soil, water passing through soil causes leaching. Soil microorganisms consume N in the soil while breaking down organic matter, like bark, coir, peat moss, dead roots and so on.

Michael

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