Mulching, especially when using materials such as cypress mulch, has become a helpful gardening agent for many gardeners and landscapers. It makes not only the yard look beautiful, but this also helps to maintain moisture (by conserving water) in the soil. To keep the plants pretty and healthy, they should be in good condition and should be provided with enough nutrients from the soil. Don’t forget to water them, too.
The Benefits of Mulches
Mulch materials such as wood chips, leaves, and barks break down and decay. As they decompose, the mulch can then help plants in a number of ways, including preventing competition between plants and weeds, which happens when unwanted plants steal all the nutrients and moisture that your plants need to grow. Also, mulches can protect your plants from extreme Australian weather. For instance, winter can affect plants because it freezes the plant’s outer part and its surrounding soil, which can cause desiccation. And in the summer, sensitive plants may not be able to bear the heat of the sun and will wither due to lack of evaporation from the soil.
However, the extremity or the ever-changing weather is not the only thing you should protect your plants from. Since it is part of the food chain, it is vulnerable from plant-eating creatures and herbivores—insects being one of them. Grasshoppers and snails eat leaves and other parts of the plant, while thrips and aphids feed on plant juices. Termites, on the other hand, love to eat the cellulose of a plant.
Termites
If you’re not familiar with what termites are, they are tiny insects that look like white ants. They are usually found two-hundred fifty to three-hundred feet away from their food source. If by chance there are tree stumps in your garden, then you might need to check them often. Termites will probably occupy these stumps and that can be a problem for you.
You may have observed these tiny insects eating different kinds of wood. Termites eat the cellulose of trees as well. If there are no trees around, they will probably eat nearby plant materials (such as cotton materials or cardboard boxes). In conclusion, any material that is made of wood means food for termites.
Cypress Mulch vs. Termites
How to know if a tree is repellent to termites? A particular tree should produce natural oils (which makes it repellent to insects), must not keep moisture that can make the wood soft, and does not have fungus causing it to decay.
Cypress trees produce an essential oil called “cypressene” which have been useful to humans for making deodorant, skin preparations, antiseptic, and so on. Furthermore, “limonene”, a neurotoxin, is an anti-termite essential oil found in this tree. This means that cypress trees are out of the termites’ menu since they avoid anything treated with essential oils.
So, if you’re planning to protect your plants against termites and, at the same time, improve the health and fertility of the soil, apply cypress mulch available at Labrador Landscape. Aside from cypress mulch, they also have a variety of mulches and barks to aid your gardening experience. In need of other gardening supplies? Visit https://landscape-supply.com.au/ and send your enquiries today.