Oleander doesn't make good mulch for anything except oleander. Something in oleander impacts growth of other plants. Sometimes 'free' isn't a good thing. Other stuff you don't want in mulch are lantana and eucalyptus. Maybe if you use it around bulbs or citrus, but not roses or seed plantings.

Yes, Moroseaz, I kind of suspected that would be the case, but was, of course, tempted because it would be "free". I've use pine straw in the past but am not sure if that will be available again this year. (If you check this post again) What mulch do you recommend for the Valley? I appreciate your advice!

Moroseaz, what is it about Eucalyptus that makes it not recommended?

Thanks!
Allison

To answer your question, probably not. Most important is that the mulch be composed of more than just wood chips: it should include some green leaves and other green components. If it is just wood chips, then it will require some additional nitrogen to break down. If you don't supply that nitrogen (say as lawn cuttings or as nitrogen-only fertilizer), then the soil will be robbed of nitrogen as the wood draws it from the soil it has contact with. Wood chip mulch is that simple. As the years go by, the wood chips will break down and improve the tilth of the soil, improving its quality.

Eucalyptus is also supposed to impact the growth of plants and seedlings.

For my mulch, I use mostly homemade compost. Now THAT's free. My neighbors supply the leaves, we have the grass clippings, a LOT of pine needles and raw fruit/veggie scraps/egg shells/coffee grounds, etc. I got one of those composter barrels out on Baseline (West Valley) for $5.00.

If I find a good sale, I'll dress up the front beds with bark. With two huge Aleppo pines, it literally rains pine needles here... especially in the husband's swimming pool, lol. We skim them out and throw them in the rosebeds. I also like the Forest Magic compost, bagged in Tempe. The Singh compost operation is in south Scottsdale, off the 101. The public gardens get nearly all their mulch from him.

I don't use gravel, rock, cocoa shells or rubber. Obviously, no oleander, eucalyptus or lantana, either. I can't imagine how nasty rubber mulch would get after a week of 114F sunlight beating down on it. I'm surprised tires don't melt here.

One of the posters here lives in south Chandler and he uses cotton husks. Swears by it. Some folks use straw but that's a fire hazard and blows off in the first monsoon wind.

The cheaper grade of pine bark (mixed sizes) is cheaper and longer lasting than pine needles and has a dramatic effect on the topsoil texture. Wood chips are good unless the preponderance is a toxic species. One kind to avoid in the East is ailanthus or tree of heaven.

Pretty much anything is good so long as it is cheap, biodegradable, and (preferably) local. I would check with local garden writers, garden clubs, etc. to see if anyone has had a problem with the municipal mulch. It's probably OK.

Golden Gate Park has been mulching Eucalyptus for decades. Reports of its evil have been greatly exaggerated. Google Eucalyptus mulch and you'll see that it works fine as a mulch.

The other thing you need to be REALLY careful of -- and I learned this the hard way -- is that the mulch is fully composted.
I put down a 4 inch layer mulch down that was still hot, not really noticing that it was still decomposing and lost all the roses whose stems it touched (just the bottom 4 inches, but that was enough to kill the plant). So make sure anything you put down is fully decomposed -- and also not just a mixture of greens and browns ready to begin the hot compost process.

I lost 5 roses -- all rare stripeys. OUCH!

Kathy

I've heard only wonderful things about Eucalyptus mulch. I have used free mulch on my other flower beds but not on my rose bed. I also use rubber mulch for my lily bed, and for flowers bed under the pin oak and sweet gum tree for about 4 years now. I also have a rock bed where I use river rock and have different types of thyme planted. I had planned on putting another one but it will have to wait until next year.

Oleander is extremely poisonous. One leaf can kill a 150lb person. There have been reports of people unknowingly using and oleander branch for roasting marshmallows over a fire and getting seriously ill from it.

So -- since they're not yet composted, would simply dry leaves we've raked up (almost all maple and oak) be out as a compost?

Do you mean as a mulch or as a compost ingredient?

Fallen leaves can be used as a mulch. In fact, I just put 4-6" of dry leaves on my rose beds. They lose volume radically after being rained or snowed on, so more will be needed later to carry the mulch through the season. They tend to mat together, so fluffing a couple of times during the growing season may improve the penetration of water. Shredded leaves are better, if you have a chipper.

After all, fallen leaves are nature's mulch and soil conditioner.

Oak leaves don't require fluffing up. They dry quickly and stay loose. Maple will compact and turn slimy as they retain moisture. If you have a combination of the two make sure they are mixed equally.

Effective composting kills weed seeds. If there is palm in the mixture you could end up with a lot of seedlings. If there is anyway you can compost the stuff before using it, it would be much better.

I have no problem with Eucalyptus mulch, it's about 90% of the commercially available mulch here. Composted, it is as good as anything else.