Janice

I don't use pots for my hostas but have used cocoa mulch extensively over the years. The cocoa hulls make a very fine granular mulch with a delightful aroma when wet. It gives a beautiful colour and texture to your best beds.

It has two drawbacks for general landscape use. First it has become expensive and is (in my area) about twice the price of other mulches by the bag. Given that most mulches are available in cubic yard (metre) quantities delivered by truck, that price fifferential is far wider as I have never seen cocoa mulch available here excepting by the bag.

The second drawback is that it doesn't last long. Given the fine structure of the mulch, it breaks down very quickly when kept moist. It never lasted more than one season here and always needed remulching the following spring. The upside of this was that the rotted mulch was an excellent soil amendment though the decomposition process may not have been helpful to plants. Ten seasons of two inches (5 cm) of cocoa mulch per year turned almost pure sand into the most gorgeous soil.

For potted plants I would be careful of one thing - a thick layer of cocoa mulch looks and smells wonderful but it is relatively impervious to water. Once the difficult soaking through is accomplished it also never dries so it may be challenging to control moisture levels in your potting medium.

Doug

No I haven't but I had some for mulch once. I mulched an herb garden with it. It smells so good. Because I had bought too much, I left two bags behind the garage over winter. When I planted the garden the next year I noticed some of the mulch had wandered off and some of the mulch got incorporated into the bed. I dried a bag off in the driveway, or so I thought, and then topped off the herb garden. Everything struggled all summer. Some new plants died. I can't recommend anything that will keep that mulch wet. I realize this is a completely different situation, but I thought I'd put it out there.

Beverly

Be careful if you have a dog. Cocoa shells contain theobromine, which has sweet smell which dogs go for. If more than a couple of ounces is ingested it could be fatal for the family pooch.

Jon

Thank you, Doug, Beverly and Jon, (so much) for your input! Decision made per advice--not good for my situation at all!! Have two dogs--that alone is enough for me to consider since I love my dogs even more than my hosta--can you IMAGINE!!

Back to pine bark filled pots!

Now, about that Pro-mix--any thoughts?

the one time i used cocoa husks.. as a mulch.. it molded to high heaven ...

i will yell ...FORGET ABOUT BIGBOXSTORE POTTING MEDIA ...

find a greenhouse that grows their own plants ... and buy a giant bag of a PROFESSIONAL mix ... whatever they have is their idea of what is best for your area ... and you might get it priced barely above wholesale ...

it avoids all the marketing BS .... water crystals... really now ... how lazy does a gardener have to be.. that they cant water PROPERLY ...

my local .. very high end nursery.. still does their own bedding plants ... and in feb.. when they were potting.. i got one of their giant bags ... and i dont recall the name ... but for you i might walk all the way down to the polebarn ...

janice.. forget about the foo foo chocolate stuff.. unless you have duplicates.. and can lose some.. if the experiment does not work out ...

ken

Better than that,Janice,plant them in the ground,like I do Lol! I always use the cheapest mulch I can find,and not the colored kind;that stuff comes off on your feet,and you track it (the color) everywhere. Phil

Ahh, ken--I'd give you a giant virtual hug if you could walk to your pole barn for me!! I was just thinking, (earlier) how much we both enjoyed being with you that time we visited you--and YOUR kids!! You not only grow hosta well, you've done a great job growing kids! I bet they're WELL on there way, into adulthood by now! Yikes, how the time flies!

BTW, remember the Dorothy Benedict OS seedling you gave me--it's finally looking impressive this year! It seemed reluctant to take off for me, maybe homesick from your care, but I'm thinking it will be a very nice one to have!! Thank you very much, again!!

Now Phil--I will hopefully plant a large portion of my hosta but in those bags I seem to be pushing! Sure wish I were the one marketing them!

I avoid anything with a moisture additive. And if BKAy sees this, she can report her experience that way. Not good, is basically the result.

And I'm still looking for a pro mix locally. We have wholesale big nurseries here, but they are not set up for retail gardeners. But hauling home the multiple bags of MiracleGro is getting to be a PAIN. We are headed to Lowes in a short while, and if the bags there are not too heavy from 2 days of rain, we'll get more. After all, next week I get the order from Savory and WadeGatton, and there goes the two bags on hand now. I try never to be without potting mix.

And crushed crab shells. Even if it does have a fishy smell.

Jon is right about it being very toxic to dogs; It's not a myth. Be careful.

Cocoa bean mulch is poisonous to pups. Glad you saw the light.

If you like that look, pine bark fines are great. Same look, safe for critters.

Cocoa bean mulch is not only toxic if eaten by the dogs but also if they sniff it and get the spores in their lungs. After that there is nothing the vet could do. A local landscaper had this happen to his dog and he had to put him down.

carp!!!!

i just went down there.. to get the dregs out of the old bag... looked at the new bag.. and didnt think to register the name ...

OK i will walk down there right now ...

BTW... no recollection of the seedlings.. care to post a pic some time.. and not buried in this post ...

i am currently using up a 12 year old bag of:

scott's metromix 360 .....

stored dry.. these huge bags have a half life of FOREVER .... buy an extra plastic garbage can.. and make sure it gets and stays dry ...

my new 3 cubic foot bag.. unopenned.. from local high end nursery is:

Berger BM8 .. the 8 is mixed with compost ...

i would have also bought a bag of mini chunks if i were potting trees ... or walked out to one of my woodchip piles ... and just mixed in one pot for ever 2 ... or 1/3 chips ....

cost for 3 cu foot bag was around $17 ...

what are you guys paying at bigboxstore for what size ....

ken

A bag of Premier Pro-Mix goes for about $14, 2cu ft compressed and will yield 4cu ft uncompressed. Add a couple bags of pine bark mulch (small pieces) and it yields a lot of potting mix for just over $21.

Paul

I like to use the cocoa bean as an additive to my compost for my retail pots, to which I also add sphagnum moss; I mix it all together in a plastic trash can. I don't use it as mulch, as it does decompose quickly. Watch it around the pooches.

... and it smells good, which is nice from the retail aspect.

dave

Thanks everyone!

Paul, is this what you buy?

Ken--thanks for the extra effort! I'll keep what you're suggesting in the front of my mind, and I'll try to think to snap a pic of the Dorothy Benedict seedling and start a new thread about it!!

janice

Janice, yep that's the one.

Paul

Thanks a lot, Paul! :o)

janice

phil and i are having a hard time with the technology....

you infer you can email him direct..

can you send him my email address... and cc me on it.. so we can cut GW out of the process

thx...

ken

ps: we are going to talk about the rest of you.. so do be paranoid.. lol

LOLOL I'm SO scared of you two talking about us all! Wish I could be there with you to listen in!!

See my post on the 'Hey ken' thread!

heyj