never heard of bark dust.. can you explain

the biggest chunks you can find.. will last the longest, before breaking down ...

my favorite of all time was cedar chips ... smelled nice.. did the job.. and had the natural tendency to not rot as fast other woods ...

ken

I'm not a big fan of cedar mulch. I want my mulch to break down to enrich the soil. And I've found that any mulch I've put down only looks good for one year because the sun fades it out. So even with cedar, if you want it to look good, you'll have to put down a new layer every spring anyway. Just my personal observation. :)

As far as the size of chunks/chips, whatever looks good to you- like Ken said, the coarser stuff won't decay as fast. The very fine stuff seems to become compacted by the end of summer and restricts water from passing through it, especially if it's put on very thick.

Barkdust on Wikipedia

If you can find it....Pine Bark Mulch breaks down nicely and is sometimes labeled as a soil conditioner. It seems like their is some sand mixed into the mulch also.

Our hosta club used to buy it by the trailer load in bags.

We did find some at Lowes this weekend.