I’ve heard about this stuff, sounds horrible. Steve, I might suggest rocks stone or gravel as a replacement for the mulch. You could pick a special color size or style you like.
Can anyone in the know tell me will Steve have trouble with the mold growing in tha areas where the mulch was? Like on his new stones he’s using in its place? Could it grow if one of his buildings? Or does it need the moist mulch?
I believe it needs organic materials to grow, so stone might not be a problem but stone holds so much heat in the summer it dries out my plants. I know this is a lot to ask, but if I decide to switch can anyone recommend a ground cover for zone 5 in the northeast?
Thanks
Steve
Don’t know anything about it but have you looked at the ground rubber mulch made from old tires?
I had to look this up, didn’t know about it. Daaaang.
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/hot_topics/2010/03artillery_fungus.html
During the cool, moist spring and fall temperatures, the artillery fungus produces very small, cup-like fruiting bodies on pieces of wood in the mulch. From these reproductive structures, the fungus is capable of shooting its sticky, black spore packages as far as 6 to 8 feet up and 20 feet out from the infested mulch. They will adhere tightly as if super-glued to the paint on a car, to the siding of a home and even to nearby plant foliage.
…
Alternatively, one may remove the wood and bark mulch and replace it with synthetic mulch, such as shredded rubber mulch and artificial pine needles. These should last much longer and not provide a medium for growth of fungi. Groundcovers may be used in lieu of thick mulch in beds, and dense groundcover growth will help prevent the sporulation by the artillery fungus.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/d/d/ddd2/
Q7: Why do light-colored houses and cars have more problems than darker cars and houses?
A: In nature, the artillery fungus shoots its spores towards sunlight to aid in dispersal. In the absence of direct sunlight, it shoots the spores at highly reflective surfaces, such as white house siding. And, of course, the black spots show up better on white surfaces, so they are noticed more easily.Q8: The artillery fungus problem seems to be much more severe now, than in the good old days. I don’t remember this being a problem 20 - 25 years ago. Why is it now a problem?
A: This is a tough question. Wider recognition and awareness of the artillery fungus by the public certainly has led to a perceived increase in the problem. However, I think the problem is also realistically more severe than in past years, partly due to increased use of landscape mulch. There is more mulch being used these days, and therefore, more favorable material for the artillery fungus in our urban and suburban areas.The artillery fungus may be just as common out in mulched flower beds far away from your house, but it is not noticed at that location. But, put the same mulch (and artillery fungus) next to your house foundation, add a white or reflective siding, and you may have a severe problem!
In addition, it is my experience that the artillery fungus seems to prefer wood as opposed to bark. Much of the mulch that we use today is recycled wood – in the past, most mulch was bark. In addition, the finely-shredded mulches used today hold more moisture than the older coarsely ground mulches – this favors fungi, because they need moisture to survive and sporulate.
Sporulate, there’s a word I’d not have expected.
Sounds like something which should be said with a hillbilly accent.
(and now I can see a horse drawn wagon its side emblazoned with “Augustus Flinstock’s world famous patented anti-sporulation tonic”)
Answer to Randy: This stuff is a fungus, not a mold. So the formation of mold is a separate issue.
Greg
The rubber mulch is a great alternative for wood mulch, comes in Mocha Brown, Black, and Cedar Red. Around $7/bag @ Home Depot, and when you walk on it, it’s like walking on a cloud. I use it all over my yard where I use to use wood chips.
I second, er third the ground tire rubber mulch. I originally got it for close to the house to stop rain from splashing dirt/mulch on the lower siding. Also found out the chickens don’t tend to mess with it.
Mike McGrath does not like wood mulch. Probably because it gets misused too often. We used to use triple ground dark mulch. It would grow this yellow sort of crusty stuff here and there. I’m sure it was some sort of fungus. Two years ago we removed all of the wood mulch and replaced it with mushroom mulch. Hasn’t grown any oddities so far. It’s more in tune with the earth beneath it. The weeds don’t seem to like it. It does have a manure kind of oder when first applied, but dissipates within a few weeks.
Thanks guys for the info. I looked up the mushroom mulch, I thought it was made up of mushroom material but it is actually compost used to grow mushrooms. The reason it smells like manure is because it has chicken and cow manure in it along with straw. Again this seems more like a soil enriching product. As far as the rubber mulch, does it stay loose and rakable or does it fuse together from time and heat making one large rubber mat? Does it float around during rain storms? Does it brush off easily or does it stick to the rails?
Thanks
Steve
Steve Mitchell said:
I believe it needs organic materials to grow, so stone might not be a problem but stone holds so much heat in the summer it dries out my plants. I know this is a lot to ask, but if I decide to switch can anyone recommend a ground cover for zone 5 in the northeast?
Thanks
Steve
Are you asking for ground cover in (zone 5 of the northeast) as a mulch product or as in “plants” for ground cover in (zone 5 in the northeast) ?
I have to be cautious on how I word my question…as I don’t want the Army,Navy,Air Force,Marines(Coast Guard for Ric) sent in on the artilary fungus when they can be easily captured and seized on the eastern front by the ground creepers.
Hi Rooster, I was talking plants for ground cover as a replacement for mulch. Just in case, you might want to wave the Stars and Stripes so they know your friendly.
Steve Mitchell said:
Thanks guys for the info. I looked up the mushroom mulch, I thought it was made up of mushroom material but it is actually compost used to grow mushrooms. The reason it smells like manure is because it has chicken and cow manure in it along with straw. Again this seems more like a soil enriching product. As far as the rubber mulch, does it stay loose and rakable or does it fuse together from time and heat making one large rubber mat? Does it float around during rain storms? Does it brush off easily or does it stick to the rails? Thanks Steve
Steve, the rubber mulch stays loose and rakeable, does not fuse together, does not float, and does brush off easily.
I used it around my swimming pool, and one of the things that bothered me about cypress mulch, is that it floated in a heavy rain storm, and I had to rake it back uphill around the pool. I used the Mocha Brown, and now we’re going to use it out in the front yard planter box, as we are taking down the pool. We’ve had the same rubber mulch for 3 years now. The other annoying thing about wood mulch is that it does decay away, and you have to replenish it every 1-2 years.
Steve Mitchell said:
Hi Rooster, I was talking plants for ground cover as a replacement for mulch. Just in case, you might want to wave the Stars and Stripes so they know your friendly.
I would stay away from mulch and go with a mixture of rocks and sedums. You really cant go wrong with any type of Sedums . They don’t require much watering, they spread nice, stay low except when certain types flower, the flowers look great, when you mix them together they look good, they are easy to pull up when they spread to areas you don’t want them, they have nice color in spring and fall.
I also like creeping Thyme but they tend to die back during the summer and they don’t always come back.
This is one of my favorite some sort of Stonecrop (Im not sure of the names)
Coral Carpet
There are some advantages to ground cover vs mulch…
Disadvantages
Both
Shawn Viggiano said:
Steve Mitchell said:
Hi Rooster, I was talking plants for ground cover as a replacement for mulch. Just in case, you might want to wave the Stars and Stripes so they know your friendly.I would stay away from mulch and go with a mixture of rocks and sedums. You really cant go wrong with any type of Sedums . They don’t require much watering, they spread nice, stay low except when certain types flower, the flowers look great, when you mix them together they look good, they are easy to pull up when they spread to areas you don’t want them, they have nice color in spring and fall.
I also like creeping Thyme but they tend to die back during the summer and they don’t always come back.
Shawn, how well do these do in full sun ?
This is one of my favorite some sort of Stonecrop (Im not sure of the names)
Coral Carpet
Steve Mitchell said:
Hi Rooster, I was talking plants for ground cover as a replacement for mulch. Just in case, you might want to wave the Stars and Stripes so they know your friendly.
Steve,
This is why I asked …sedums are a great choice and don’t forget about the herb family as well… like thyme.
Stone crop as suggested and dragon blood as well along with phlox.
What the phlox!
Dan Padova said:
Shawn Viggiano said:
Steve Mitchell said:
Hi Rooster, I was talking plants for ground cover as a replacement for mulch. Just in case, you might want to wave the Stars and Stripes so they know your friendly.I would stay away from mulch and go with a mixture of rocks and sedums. You really cant go wrong with any type of Sedums . They don’t require much watering, they spread nice, stay low except when certain types flower, the flowers look great, when you mix them together they look good, they are easy to pull up when they spread to areas you don’t want them, they have nice color in spring and fall.
I also like creeping Thyme but they tend to die back during the summer and they don’t always come back.
Shawn, how well do these do in full sun ?
This is one of my favorite some sort of Stonecrop (Im not sure of the names)
Coral Carpet
They do very well in full sun. I have used sedums both in shade and full sun. They are very hardy. Big difference is when in shade they don’t flower as well. Full sun they really look great.
Phlox is another great one I forgot about that I use all over. (Thanks for the reminder Rooster). Phlox Stays green year round and have the best flower’s in the spring. Stays fairly low. Most of the sedums of Phlox can be found at Lowes and Home depot. I love the look of thyme but be careful because it will die in spots and it does not always come back after winter in the Northeast.