Is Cypress Mulch Good for Strawberry Plants?

Cypress Mulch

• Cypress mulch is attractive, affordable and naturally rot-resistant, but it is not a good mulch for strawberries. To maintain a strawberry patch, weak or unproductive strawberry plants are removed every fall after harvest. Moving aside a cypress wood chip mulch would be time consuming and cumbersome. Cypress and other wood chip mulches work well for garden paths or in permanent perennial and shrub beds, rather than for temporary vegetable and strawberry beds.

Winter Mulching

• Strawberries need winter mulching to survive freezing temperatures, but cypress mulches are too heavy. Snow, combined with the mulch, might smother the plants. A lightweight, bulky mulch works better because it doesn't become compacted with the snow and is easy to remove in the spring.

Summer Mulch Alternatives

• Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch around the base of the plants in the summer to conserve moisture and keep weeds in check. Untreated grass clippings work well and eventually break down, adding nitrogen to the soil. Other options include oat, wheat or soybean straw. Don't use hay, though, which contains weed and grass seeds.

Winter Mulch Alternatives

• Cover strawberry plants with 4 to 5 inches of straw, or even chopped cornstalks in the fall, after the first frost. Wait until temperatures hover just above 20 degrees F. Mulching too early may cause more winter damage because the plants weren't hardened off sufficiently. Do not mulch with leaves or grass clippings in the winter. These materials become compacted and slimy with wet weather and may smother the plants. Remove the mulches slowly as new growth appears in the spring, but leave them close by and recover the plants if temperatures dip.