Do You Know Which Type of Mulch is Right for You?

Hardwood Shredded Mulch is a medium brown blend of shredded bark and wood 1/8 to 1/2 inches wide and 1 to 3 inches or more long. It is twice ground to limit large pieces and to create a nice functional balance of large and small particles. Hardwood shredded mulch offers arguably the best bang for the buck and is by far our best seller.

Overall hardwood shredded mulch is a good budget minded choice even though the color does fade some over time. Typically the more wood in a mulch product the more it will fade out from the sun. The low cost versus how well it functions in respect to weed suppression, moisture holding, how it looks, and decay rates make it a good buy. We sell about as much hardwood shredded mulch as all the others put together.

Cedar mulch is a medium-light brown mixture of cedar bark and cedar chips. The bark part of it is stringy or hairy and a darker brown, the wood portion is a lighter colored chip. The chips are mostly 1" to 2" long and ¼" to 1/2" wide. It looks and smells really nice, especially when fresh.

Cedar mulch keeps it color better than hardwood mulch or barkfines partially because it starts out lighter. It is very consistent in size and color since it is all from one tree species. Cedar wood and cedar bark are naturally resistant to bug infestation. The cedar wood portion of this product is somewhat more resistant to decay than hardwoods. Cedar Shredded Mulch is produced the same way as the hardwood mulch. Much of the cedar delivered to SW Michigan comes from the Upper Peninsula.

Barkfines are medium to medium dark brown particles about 1/2" and smaller with a fairly large portion smaller.

It is a very popular low cost mulch which works especially well in beds with many small plants.

It is made from virgin wood and bark which is ground fine, screened and aged to create a fine and uniform texture. It is quite effective in reducing weed growth. The fine texture makes it easy to spread, especially around small plants. It fade characteristics is similar to hardwood shredded mulch.

This rich brown mulch is composed of dyed brown wood particles which are mostly 1" to 2" long with finer material in between. It is made from either recycled wood such as old pallets or virgin wood. The brown mulch tends to hold its color fairly well for a season and because the brown is closer in color to the untreated mulch it is harder to tell it is faded as compared to the black and red colored mulches. Using brown colored mulch still maintains a natural look but also takes advantage of the long lasting color advantages of using color enhanced mulches.

After a season you will notice a little bit of a salt and pepper look from the fading. This is a little more noticeable than the red colored mulch due to the big difference in original wood color versus the very dark color of the final product. From a visual standpoint this mulch can create an interesting contrasting color to the plants in the bed.

This vibrant red mulch is composed of dyed bright red particles which are mostly 1" to 2" long with finer material in between. It is made from either recycled wood such as old pallets or virgin wood. It tends to hold its color fairly well for a season and will be mostly faded after two seasons. A fresh annual cover keeps it looking bright red. When it is dumped on the drive it may leave a red stain so plan accordingly. The bright red makes a strong design statement so make sure you like it.

Our black mulch is composed of dyed black wood particles which are mostly 1" to 2" long with finer material in between. It is made from either recycled wood such as old pallets or virgin wood. This mulch is quickly becoming more popular in this area. It tends to hold its color pretty well for a season and will be mostly faded after two seasons. Like all colored mulches it can bleed some so plan accordingly when dumped on a cement driveway.

After a season you will notice a little bit of a salt and pepper look from the fading. This is a little more noticeable than the red colored mulch due to the big difference in original wood color versus the very dark color of the final product. From a visual standpoint this mulch can create an interesting contrasting color to the plants in the bed.