Maybe the reflected/absorbed heat.

Dan

That's strange, moonview. At least in my experience. Now we need to know what kind of mulch! And was it 'hot' (as in a state of vigorous decomposing) when you put it down?

There was a mulch being sold that had an herbicide added to it to help with "weed" suppression, and that could also kill any other plant it touched.
What kind of mulch did you use?
How thickly was the mulch applied?
Mulches should not touch plants and there needs to be a space between the mulch and the plants.

Why bother to mulch at all if plant's leaves can't touch it? Please.

Dan

I believe that those herbicide treated mulches were laced with pre-emergent chemicals, not post-emergent....which would be kinda ridiculous when you think of it. Considering that it was promoted for the landscaping industry and all.

Because mulches can hold too much moisture against a plants stem mulches should not be placed so they can do that, touch the plants stem. That, mulches touching a plant stem, can cause rot.

Golly, kimmsr, millllyuns of houses and office parks across the planet are doing it wrong, spreading mulch across the entire bed. Why would they do such a thing? Why won't the mulch, horticulture, gardening, Extension, landscape industries tell anyone about this looming menace?!?!?!?!??!?!??!!?!?!?!??!

Dan

I have seen more improperly applied mulch then I do properly mulched beds. Trees with volcanoes of mulch and the mulch material piled up on the trees trunk, flower beds with mulches piled against the plants, flower beds with an insufficent amount of mulch and weeds growing through that mulch (and being told mulching does not help suppress "weed" growth) and most of this done by "professional" landscapers.
In the last 3 weeks on "Ask This Old House" Roger Cook had a segment on improper mulches, "Victory Garden" had Paul Epsom talking about improper mulching, P. Allen Smith has had a segment on improper mulching on his show. Numerous articles in the local newspaper also talked about improper mulching and Fine Gardening, Garden Gate, and Organic Gardening magazines have had numerous articles, for many years, about improper mulching.
The Master Gardening class I took some years back also had a section on mulching and how to properly apply that mulch. The information is there, some of us are trying to get the correct word out.

None of that has anything to do with the issue in the OP. And it is true that there are improperly applied mulches but there is zero information in the OP that indicates such.

Dan

We mulched feeder bush ....will the mulch kil plants?

Federbush

kink.. your reply really has nothing to do with the OLD post...

start your own next time...

and your use of a common name.. just brings up peoples names ;...

can you give us a latin name ...

ken

Sorry I saw mulch and killing plants....first time doing this question answer thing and I further confused things by misspelling Fetterbush....I don't know of Latin name....trying to rid this brush and have been mulching it....grows in among saw palmettos and pines in zone 9 of southwest florida

Kinkscat, no need to apologize. So you want to get rid of the Leucothoe (fetterbush).....I don't blame you.

Your answer is "no" , mulch will never kill it.

I'm afraid that you'll need to do some very selective removal, both manually and perhaps with the careful application of systemic herbicides painted to a newly cut stump.

I don't envy you one bit, those saw palmettos are a hazard!

You might consider contacting your local county Extension office for some specific and local help with this problem.

If you CLICK HERE I'll help you find your county office information.

I was not clear. Using a brushmaster ( chipper) we made fetter bush into mulching material. Will this fetter mulch kill plants that we put it around?

moonview, I won't go as far as to say that it is killing your plants; but certainly the leaves of plants react in the way you observe when they are in constant or regular contact with other elements in the land- or interior- scape.

But lest I get accused of straying from the topic, my preference is not to mulch annuals - the colorful plants we replace 3 or 4 times a year, to remind ourselves of the passage of time. Let me qualify that by saying that some other conditions are attached.

The first is accurate spacing. When done well, the ground (or mulch) is not visible when the plants grow out. Following from that, it is essential to provide the conditions which promote the rapid growing out of the young plants. The first is proper tilth. The most useful tool I have used for this is a mason's trowel. Then there is fertilization. "Osmocote" (no endorsement intended) works very well for the whole cycle if enough of it is incorporated. The annual bed is the only area where I'd apply a chemical (fungicide) preventatively; because if a fungus takes hold, it is a nightmare to correct. Watering is the most demanding practice. I remember my grandmother's advice - "water the flower garden in the morning and the kitchen garden in the afternoon". It is better to err on the side of "Less" - but not by too much.

I have to agree with the writer who has bemoaned the misapplication of mulch in the landscape - in spite of the good advice repeated by those who have taken the pains to learn. It is my considered opinion that mulching has been cheapened by those uncaring operators who use it to cover up their multitude of sins; chief of which is indifferent weed control. Applying glyphosate immediately before putting down mulch is a waste of time and money. When done 10 days beforehand, it will translocate to all parts of the treated weeds which will continue to die even after the mulch is applied. It is worth it to treat the mulch with a good pre-emergent product - one that inhibits root-cell division and stays in place. Weed seeds are introduced by wind and other agents into the mulch layer. The pre-emergent application targets these.

Wow, I am sure confused, lol. Kinscat, so you want to know if the chips you made of your fetterbush is toxic, harmful, allelopathic to other plants, right?

Well, the only research I could find is that it strongly inhibits germination and development of certain pine species. However, the fact that I couldn't find further information only means that the subject hasn't been fully researched. Allelopathy remains something of a mystery.

Knowing that fetterbush is quite toxic to begin with, and now understanding that it is allelopathic to at least some pines, I would be very careful about using the fetterbush mulch.

I'd not use it around seed beds, young transplants, seedlings, or pines.....simply because there's a great deal unknown about how many different plants could potentially be affected.

It's worth mentioning that even in the most allelopathic species, several weeks of composting the problematic mulch will cause the problems to abate.

Thank you all from urging me to clarify to answering my question.