mulch

Question - poll, maybe.
What kind of mulch do you use?

I ask, because I spent the entire day at my niece's new house redoing her
mulch.  In front, some lamebrain used black plastic about 15 yrs ago and
then piled on the mulch.  The beautiful birch tree did find ways around it
so that the roots were growing on top of the plastic in the somewhat
decomposed mulch - of course making it harder to extract.  On top of this
was some other mulch, hard to identify, more like sun-bleached wood scrap.

In the back the previous owners had built a large deck.  When they
landscaped around it they used fabric this time, but the holes they cut for
the plants were barely big enough for the trunks. One hibiscus had thefabric
wrapped loosely 5 inches up the trunk.  Over this they had a layer of
Cypress mulch, thin in some areas, thicker in others.  I fail to understand
why this mulch is so popular.  In the 2 yrs it had hardened into an
impermeable mat such that when I poured water on it, it just rolled off like
a duck's back.  so I cut out more fabric and broke up all the mulch - should
have pitched it, but tried to save her a little by just topdressing.  I used
pinebark all around.

So why is cypress so popular other than that it takes forever to decompose -
another reason I don't like it?  As I understand, it is also in trouble,
being harvested much too quickly.  Many local suppliers carry no pine
products.  Those that do will get in 50 skids of cypress to one of pine.
There's also hardwood mulch, but my experiences with that include bringing
in my first slugs, and also it seems it's appearance is more variable.

So what kind do you use, if you use mulch?

Kitty

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