@klem1 Not sure what you meant by "patenting" here....

Patent = Protected process and/or name competitors can't use unless they pay patent holder for the privilege. Patenting = act/process of obtaining a patent. Nitrolized Arbor Sawdust (capitalized name) implies patented product but very well might just be buzz to help promote sales. It could be either and the greatest thing for plants since rain but non of my sources offer it.

If used only as a mulch, I'd lean more towards the wood chips, as at least in my area, they are available for free. Free is good :-)

There is also some leeway involved with the interpretation of "arbor" in the product name. All arbor means is it relates to wood - the material is apparently shredded wood fines - but provides no info on the sourcing of the wood. It could just as well be recycled scrap wood as it is anything gathered from the activities of a tree service or from actual arborists. That would cause me some concern unless clarified.

If used as a base ingredient for a durable potting medium or if incorporated into the soil as a planting amendment, then I'd opt for the nitrolized sawdust/chips, simply because it/they have been treated to offset any expected nutrient deficiencies present when wood products become mixed with soil.

btw, there is no patenting involved with this product at all. And it seems to be endemic to just parts of California. Also this product is not intended to be a fertilizer or nutrient supplement, merely as a mulch or soil amendment.

@klem1 No patent, just capitalized product names.

I've heard of thread wander but this beats all. Hopefully you found the answer somewhere on the round-a-bout. .

I believe westes was asking for a opinion rather than an answer to a specific question. And as to "thread wandering", that probably started with an off the wall assumption the product under discussion was patented.

English is a second language for me but I'm slowly learning. Thread wander started when words were capitalized when imo they shouldn't have been. I made the remark without realizing vernacular differs from Gulf Coast to West Coast. Around here it's safe to assume those capital letters meant something other than generic and the only conclusion I could think of was patented product. But since emphasis has shifted from mulch to terminology I'm eager to know why capitalizing those words along the West Coast wouldn't alter their meaning? What term/word does PNW and West Coast use instead of patent as I defined? Ditto for "off the wall". Along the Gulf Coast off the wall means strange as well as some variants. What do you find off the wall about what caps meant to me?