Mulch With Melaleuca

Although Florida wetlands are protected (to a certain extent), wetland trees may not be, which means that cypress--those lovely, stout-based conifers with the feathery green foliage and the whimsical knees--often get logged. Cypress heads provided valuable habitat for many species of wildlife, including black bear, wood stork and white ibis.

Because cypress requires saturated soil, it does not lend itself to tree farming. Although once abundant throughout the Southeast, early logging was so thorough that few large cypress trees remain today. However, the smaller trees, most with diameters less than 12 inches, are harvested and chipped into mulch that is packaged for retail sale.

Mulching gardens conserves water, but the use of cypress mulch inadvertently supports an even greater environmental loss. Save cypress swamps and other forested wetlands by avoiding cypress mulch. Ask, instead, for mulch made from invasive nonnatives like melaleuca or Australian pine. And as you mulch, here and there in your garden leave patches of soil exposed for dusting by birds.