Cypress Mulch
The Cypress Mulch Controversy
Open a bag of cypress mulch and you're opening a Pandora's Box of controversy, or so it would seem if you read the articles and clippings about what's good and what's bad about using this particular type of much.
Powerful Arguments On Both Sides - Those who promote the use of cypress mulch will of course focus on its beneficial qualities, which are for the most part indisputable. Cypress mulch, primarily made from the bark of mature cypress trees, is very resistant to rot and decay, and lasts a long time in the garden. It is considered to do a better than average job both in repelling insects and inhibiting weed growth. Cypress mulch is also on the heavy side, which means it won't be easily spread around by wind and rain.
The same can be said for some other types of mulches as well, but the growing popularity of cypress mulch would seem to attest to the fact that gardeners who use it are pleased with the results.
Environmentalists and some land management and forestry types are one the other hand, saying that what is good for the garden is bad for coastal forests. These are not the tree-hugging types who would put up a fuss if we were talking about fir, Sitka spruce, or other tree species which grow in relative abundance, and the mulch market at best only makes a tiny dent in forest growth and logging sustainability.
The problem with cypress mulch is that the cypress forests have been logged in a manner that is not sustainable. Cypress trees take a long time to mature, and will grow only under very special conditions. Producing cypress mulch it is argued, is only making the problem of sustaining cypress forests worse, and having nicer gardens is a poor reason to endanger our cypress forests.
The pro mulch types will argue that most cypress mulch these days comes from trees that are grown on plantations. The Anti mulch crowd will tell you that younger immature trees cannot produce mulch of anywhere near the quality that is produced from the bark of mature trees, and consequently mature trees are still being logged to make your garden more beautiful.
It's Their Fault - It's an indisputable fact that cypress bark makes an excellent mulch, far better than most other types. It's also an undeniable fact that cypress trees are being harvested at an unsustainable rate, plantation tress notwithstanding. If one wants to point fingers of blame however, we have to point them at our grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, who were responsible for cutting down most of the cypress forests, especially in and around Florida and Louisiana. The bulk of the logging that's been done seems to have occurred about a hundred years ago. Cypress logging goes on, but not at the rate it once did.
So, What Should You Do? - The question is then, if you use cypress mulch are you a smart person or a bad person? There's probably no right answer to that one. On the one hand, only a tiny percentage of logged cypress ends up as mulch. On the other hand, given the situation, every mature cypress tree left standing is a good thing. It's nice to be able to go about your gardening chores without having to go on a guilt trip, but some things in life are just plain unavoidable. It gets back to the argument of trees versus jobs, and we need both. At the risk of being accused of trying to please everyone, likely an impossibility in this case, the best solution may simply be that of using cypress bark judiciously.