Exactly

What I have been getting is the double ground hardwood bark which is $23.00 per yard. I did try the cypress last year and while it held up really well and didn't seem to float or wash I was concerned that it did nothing as far as putting nutrients back into the soil and from my understanding the hardwood bark does.... is that correct? Also the double ground hardwood was just a tad cheaper but not enough to make any difference.

Anything that was once growing will add nutrients as it is broken down and begins to decompose. Some more; some less. Some faster; some slower.

I use shredded oak and hickory leaves- we rake and shred our own. I love this mulch! It is easy to work in, easy to move around, lasts well, and doesn't mat like whole leaves. I'm so glad we started doing this.

Same here. Any mulch would work. I try to stay away from cypress mulch so they don't cut down more cypress trees. I typically use double ground hard wood mulch: they are fine enough to compose into nutrients, but have some slightly big size balks so they don't get washed away too easily.

I agree with vivian. Cypress is not a readily renewable resource. I generally use leaf mould and hardwood mulch made by our cities leaf pickup/tree limb disposal.

It's recycled, local and FREE!

Be careful about the mulch you can buy from the big box stores. The hard wood mulch I bought once had chunks of OSB, particle board and even pieces of boards with rusty nails mixed in.

Good point, bill :-)) And stay away from dyed mulch........it is usually fabricated out of old wooden pallets. And it is butt-ugly.

I never buy from the big box stores and have only used the cypress once. I always buy direct from the supplier who grinds his own so I pretty much trust what he says is in it. I always buy bulk also and have it delivered, looks like next year I'll need about 20 yards total.

I have been buying the purple bags of pine bark mulch from Lowes, which is a mixture of bark pieces from less than 1/2 inch up to about 2 inches. I sift out the finer pieces through a 1/2 inch square wire mesh and use them as a soil amendment, then use the larger pieces as mulch. Pine bark fines are extremely hard to find around here, and what I've seen for sale online is many times more expensive than the stuff I make this way.