So, the arbutus leaves are just about finished shedding - I'm faced with the problem of what to do with them. I learned last year that they are poor additions to my compost. If I shred them with a weedwacker in a garbage can can I use them to mulch a cedar hedge? Will shredding them make them break down faster in a compost, or am I left to hang on to them until burning season or take them to the municipal composter? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
Shredding will certainly help them break down faster. They should make a good mulch for your Cedrus hedge too.
If you have a mower with a rear bagger, you can break them down nicely that way. It would seem we have a week or so left with the annual shedding around this part of Van Isl. Cheers, LPN.
Thanks for the advice. I'm in upper Lantzville myself. I'll see if I can get a bag mower and try that method of shredding, and mulch my hedge with the chopped leaves. Last year my husband (unbeknownst to me) raked up all the leaves and crammed them into my compost bin. When I pulled out the compost this spring I found the leaves - completely unchanged. I crushed them up as best I could, watered them and jammed them back in - we'll see how they do this year!
Small world ... I'm in Upper Lantzvlle too. You can't miss my place if you drive by. Palms, bananas, Eucalyptus etc ... big greenhouse out back. Pop by some time for a tour and some garden chat. Cheers, LPN (Barrie)
Just noticed your post. We have about a half dozen ourselves. Only a few more leaves left to shed. We're on a rather "open" property, so I blow them off the driveway onto the chips that we got. There are a lot of leaves. A couple of our madrones have trunks 40" in diameter - maybe a bit bigger. I'm looking at them right now. The sunrise is illuminating the trunks and fallen leaves. Looks quite nice.
If you have sandy soil, it might be annoying that they break down slowly. I have clay soil, and I like things that break down slowly to improve our drainage. John S PDX OR
