Are Wood Chips a Good Flower Garden Mulch?

Identification

• Wood chips are the result of trees being shredded by machine to get rid of limbs and branches. Often utility companies and tree care businesses offer the chips for free.

Benefits

• According to experts at Oklahoma State University, wood chips act as other mulches do to conserve soil moisture, keep weeds in check, reduce the insect population and add a natural element to the landscape.

Disadvantages

• Although most research revealed no drawbacks in using wood chips as mulch on flower or vegetable gardens, the experts at Cornell University cautioned that in the process of decomposing, the chips may temporarily reduce the uptake of nitrogen. You can compensate for this by adding nitrogen fertilizer to the planting area.

Application

• Before spreading the mulch, allow it to receive a rain or two to wash any water-soluble sap away, says Walter Reeves of Gardening in Georgia. And keep the mulch 2 to 3 inches away from the stems.

Potential

• Wood chips suppress weeds, thus reducing the need for chemical weed killers. The earthworm population then increases, resulting in better aeration of the soil--a win-win situation.