Melaleuca Mulch Product Provides Home Gardeners With Environmentally Friendly Alternative

Monday February 10, 2003

Recent studies suggest that pressure treated wood is creating a large disposal problem.  Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), the most common chemical treatment for wood, contains arsenic, a known carcinogen.  As this wood ages and is replaced, it is recycled, and in some instances chipped for use as landscaping mulch.  Mulches made from recycled pressure treated wood may seep arsenic into surrounding soil and groundwater.

FloriMulch, a melaleuca mulch product developed by Forestry Resources, provides an environmentally friendly solution that helps achieve a well-manicured look while offering a number of advantages over other types of mulches.   Forestry Resources offers three different FloriMulch products.  Each one is derived from 100 percent melaleuca, is not treated with CCA or any other non-organic chemical, and is completely non-toxic.  In fact, FloriMulch Plus, has been enhanced with Mycorrhizae, an organic all natural root stimulant.  All FloriMulch products feature an endorsement from The Friends of the Florida Everglades, leaders in the crusade to save the National Park's native environment.

FloriMulch, the leader in the up-and-coming melaleuca mulch market, provides a number of features based on its core component - melaleuca.  It serves a practical use of controlling weeds, reducing watering, and protecting roots.  In addition, recent studies suggest it is termite resistant.  Preliminary research conducted at the University of Florida suggests termites survived better and consumed more mulch made up of pine and cypress sapwoods.  However, they did not survive with a strict melaleuca diet.  In addition, Forestry Resources has developed a curing process that raises the temperature of the mulch to 140 degrees, which eliminates burrowing nematodes and weed seed germination.  In fact, FloriMulch is the only melaleuca mulch product earning a state certification as nematode free.

Melaleuca mulch provides further benefits as an environmentally friendly product.  Melaleuca is a non-native tree that was introduced to Florida by the Army Corp of Engineers in the 1920's as a way to dry up the Everglades.  Because of its quick proliferation, it destroys native vegetation.  Today, it is illegal to plant new melaleuca trees, but it still grows.   Forestry Resources created the FloriMulch product as a method of eliminating this evasive tree and finding a practical use for it.  Melaleuca mulch is an environmentally friendly alternative to cypress mulch.  The enormous amounts of cypress mulch produced each year threaten the survival of this native Florida tree important for flood control, wildlife habitat and water purity.

FloriMulch is already the mulch of choice for many counties and cities throughout Florida when it comes to providing surface cover in parks and playgrounds.  The melaleuca mulch product provides an important buffer between children and possibly contaminated soil and is fully certified for shock absorbing qualities in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials safety standards.   In addition, FloriMulch PlaySafe is ADA compliant and allows wheelchair accessibility where other playground material separate and become unstable.  It is also a clean alternative to sand. 

Forestry Resources also carries a line of non-melaleuca premium shredded colored (red, gold, eucalyptus blend) mulch.  These products do not contain any pressure treated lumber or reconstituted woods.  Furthermore, all coloring agents are environmentally safe pigments and are Material Safety Data Sheet approved. 

Forestry Resources, based in Fort Myers, Fla., is celebrating its 20th anniversary as the innovators in melaleuca mulch production.  FloriMulch is available in two-cubic feet bags, contractor three-cubic feet bags and bulk.   To learn more about Forestry Resources, FloriMulch and the benefits of melaleuca mulch call, 866-GO-MULCH, 239-334-7272 or visit www.gomulch.com.  Consumers looking to purchase FloriMulch can contact their local garden and home improvement store for details.