Many consider cedar etc. as allelopathic. If your not familiar with the term you may want to look at this article http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs186. Until recently I would not use cedar chips at all because they come with complications such as will my apples get apple-cedar rust? are they mildly toxic? etc.. One of the latest papers published suggests the wood chips from cedars are in fact not allelopathic. http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/horticultural%20myths_files/Myths/Allelopathic%20wood%20chips.pdf . In some cases certain plants are affected by allelopathic plants and others are not https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/430/430-021/430-021_pdf.pdf. Either wood chips should be fine.

I doubt that it would. In my experience, gravel or lava rock is about the only thing that stops them probably because it's sharp. The lava rock works really well for me with my potted plants. I guess the same principle as the gravel. I've always used blood meal for newly planted areas. It seems if I can just keep the critters away for the first week or so, they rarely go back and cause serious damage. It is amazing what happens if I don't use it. They will dig out every single plant I put in the ground. It's almost like they watch me and follow right behind with those little claws. A bunch of us are being severely chastised right now on the Orchid Forum for our hatred of these demon spawn. The Squirrel Rights People just never give up. Kevin

We don't use bark mulch. We use a mixture of 50/50 leaf mould & manure even in the shrub borders. I really like the natural look of it and it breaks down in the soil quicker as well as not tying up as much nitrogen since it's been composted for a season. In the fall, we beg leaves from all around our neighborhood, grind them, compost over the winter adding coffee grounds & manure once/week. By this time, we have a HUGE pile (probably about 7-8 yards) of great stuff ready to apply. If you do purchase mulch, please do NOT buy cypress. It's a protest thing. We are a certified wildlife refuge site and in my last quarterly magazine there was a headliner article speaking about how the Gulf's (especially LA) cypress trees are being cut down for mulch. The article explained how the process is destroying the cypress forests that help protect the land from large storms such as Katrina. Also, cutting the mature trees prevents younger trees from ever reaching maturity because its the mature trees that soak up the water & dry the land...seedlings need to be dry for several months out of the year in order to prosper & grow. It also said that a lot of what's being sold as cypress bark is really cypress chips and doesn't have the anti-rotting/anti-insect properties people think they're getting. Anyway, please check before purchasing.

I am at at Tim Horton's parking lot (free WiFi) so that I can get on my macbook to find a thread in the Hosta forum somewhere that could help me remember exactly what size pine to use in my media for my pots. Well, lo and behold I found this perfect thread and I thought it could use a 'bump' for this season considering there have been media questions. Anyway, now I can go back into Canadian Tire feeling confident that I will buy the right stuff. You should have seen the young lads face when I couldn't decide what to buy and I told him that I would be back after I visited my forum and asked my hosta friends :) Again...thanks so much to all of you really experienced folks who share your knowledge with the rest of us!