Redwood needles... garden uses?
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7 years ago
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mulch question-Oak leaves? Redwood needles?
Comments (9)lovegmc Your hubby's right, but the level of toxicity is relatively mild, but that should be enough to preclude the use of its needles for mulch. The Coastal Redwood is listed as a toxic plant on the page linked at the bottom. Its toxicity is noted to be 2 & 4 but not the others. Toxicity Class (third column in table below) 1. Major Toxicity: These plants may cause serious illness or death. If ingested, immediately call the Poison Control Center or your doctor. 2. Minor Toxicity: Ingestion of these plants may cause minor illnesses such as vomiting or diarrhea. If ingested, call the Poison Control Center or your doctor. 3. Oxalates: The juice or sap of these plants contains oxalate crystals. These needle-shaped crystals can irritate the skin, mouth, tongue, and throat, resulting in throat swelling, breathing difficulties, burning pain, and stomach upset. Call the Poison Control Center or your doctor if any of these symptoms appear following ingestion of plants. 4. Dermatitis: The juice, sap, or thorns of these plants may cause a skin rash or irritation. Wash the affected area of skin with soap and water as soon as possible after contact. The rashes may be very serious and painful. Call the Poison Control Center or your doctor if symptoms appear following contact with the plants. 5. Animal toxicity: Pets, especially cats and dogs, frequently ingest plants. If a plant is known to be hazardous to humans, it will probably be toxic for animals as well. For a list of plants which are toxic to animals, call your local University of California Cooperative Extension office and ask for Publication 21564. Here is a link that might be useful: Toxic plants -- Search for Sequoia sempervirens...See Morepreparing for woodland garden under giant redwood
Comments (11)I'm doing a simular thing. I have a huge redwood in my small yard, and others nearby and I'm in the process of transplanting native sword, cliff and chain ferns to my small shadey yard. I also have a small garden bed dug out about 6 feet away from the tree. The garden bed was dug carefully, leaving the tree root that ran through it undisturbed. Redwoods have very shallow and small root systems for their size. Not only do you not want to hurt the tree, you don't want to damage the root system because in a high wind- the tree could fall and hurt *you*. If you damage some of the smaller "hairy" roots that shoot off from the main root- that's OK. But you don't want to dig anything but smaller shallow holes within 4 - 6 feet. Native ferns should do very well under redwoods if they have enough drainage, water and loose soil. And plenty of leaf mold or needle mold ("duff"). I think watering them occasionally throughout the first summer would help. I'm also going to try toad lillies and rain lillies. And oriental and asiatic lillies further away from the tree in partial shade. Oxalis does very well, but can be invasive. You might also consider plants with shallow root systems or potted plants closer to the tree. There are a few native ca irises that will grow near redwoods. I think about any acid loving woodlands plant would do OK, particularly the ones used to our dry summers and wet winters. Any native perenial though, I'd water occasionally the first summer to help it "set". If your soil is clay- you will need to make sure water can drain from the bottom of any small holes you dig for plants. Otherwise you get a "bowl" effect, and the clay holds all the water in the hole and the plants will drownd in the winter. You can dig little trenches and either fill them in or put in a little pvc pipeing with holes drilled into it into the trench first for a permanant bed. I would leave the needles there. They are the perfect fertilizer for anything that would grow there. Most woodland plants don't like ammended soil. If it is compacted of clay, you can carefully dig in a little leaf mold or duff by hand with a small trowl. Then be sure there is a covering of needles on top. The needles will also keep the soil from compacting....See MoreJapanese Garden Juniper: lowest needles are crunchy and yellow
Comments (4)Needles older than a few years will die anyway and replaced by newer ones. But lack of light is the main culprit. The inner/lower branches get shaded by the outer ones and they are the first to go. Keeping it properly pruned and cleaned (of old brown needles) so that some light always gets inside prevents this situation. The soil does not look like a proper bonsai soil. But then garden center bonsai is usually in a wetter mix. Tip browning can occur with excess salts, over watering and under watering. Junipers can tolerate pretty dry conditions. Excess salt in soil can be taken care of by flushing the soil every say 4th watering. To flush use clean water and water it several times. Being out in the rain helps flushing more easily....See MoreSpruce needles on lawn and garden bed
Comments (7)Can you borrow a neighbor's blower to try it out before buying one? Needles do tend to be pretty sticky and poky things, particularly short ones, and sedum can be short-rooted, even healthy ones. I'm just sayin' I see a bit of potential for a minor, if slightly amusing, disaster here that requires some re-planting. :-) A small hand rake might serve you a bit better in this instance, annoying and time-consuming though that is. Many evergreens are allelopathic, which means they exude chemicals from root and needle that suppress the spreading and sprouting of other plants. I'm not sure about spruce, but it may be that the tree is actively suppressing the sedum growth as the needles drop in, rain falls on them, and the chemicals enter into the soil, stopping root growth and rhizome spread. It's one of the reasons that growing most plants under a pine tree is impossible; the pH is actually quite reasonable underneath them and pine needles, once broken down, make a great mulch....See MoreUser
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