LOCAL COMPANY ADDS ALL-NATURAL MULCHES TO LOWE’S GARDEN PRODUCTS

Monday February 12, 2007

Forestry Resources (FRI) ground cover products are now available in the garden supply department at seven Lowe’s stores throughout Southwest Florida, including Lowe’s Murdock store, adding Charlotte County to Lee and Collier counties as the area served by the landscape supplier.

Featured in the assortment is Forestry Resources’ uniquely branded FloriMulch, an environmentally friendly mulch made from the melaleuca tree. A highly invasive exotic that proliferates in South Florida, melaleuca has become renowned for its tight stands of papery white and grayish bark trees that push out native Florida vegetation, adversely impacting the habitat of the natural wildlife. The trees had no enemy until Forestry Resources pioneered the harvesting and recycling of the trees into a beneficial product.

In addition to the company’s signature FloriMulch, Forestry Resources also supplies local area Lowe’s stores with ProCyress, Specialty Red Mulch, and double-washed miniature sea shell. The Lowe’s stores that carry Forestry Resources’ products are located at U.S. 41 and Gladiolus Drive, and Colonial Boulevard and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers; N.E. Pine Island Road and S.W. 25th Lane in Cape Coral; Estero Town Commons Place in Estero; Airport-Pulling Road in Naples; and Tamiami Trail near Toledo Blade in Murdock.

According to Alan Shaffer, Forestry Resources’ vice president of sales, marketing and store operations, adding Lowe’s to its growing number of retail outlets that carry the high-grade mulch products is an example of the company’s strategy for long-term growth.

“FloriMulch is an attractive, high-quality alternative to cypress mulch, and promoted by gardeners and landscapers installing native landscape designs, including members associated with the Native Plant Society and Master Gardeners, “ Shaffer said.

“The all-natural product is organic, acts as a weed barrier, doesn’t float away when it rains, helps prevent moisture from evaporating during the dry winter months, adds nutrients to the soil, is nontoxic, and is an inhospitable habitat for termites. In addition, FRI is proud to be certified by the U.S. Mulch and Soil Council and hold a Florida Department of Agriculture seal certifying FloriMulch as a burrowing nematode-free product,” Shaffer added. “That’s quite a list of benefits, so in addition to creating beautiful and healthy landscapes, homeowners can use environmentally friendly and beneficial products to contribute to a healthier environment.”

Formed in 1983, FRI now consists of four divisions -- Forestry Resources, Forestry Resources Vegetation Management, Forestry Resources Landscape Supply and GoMulch.com.

For information about Forestry Resources, landscaping and landscape products, care tips and information from landscape experts, call (239) 334-7343 or visit www.gomulch.com.