Norm Mittleider, owner of The Art of Pruning (770-407-1511) read my comments about using stone mulch in a landscape.

He comments: “You could not have said it any better when addressing the question of using stone as mulch. I have seen the bad effects of using such a medium for mulching purposes.

A case in point is the poor Japanese maple in photo below. I have been monitoring the tree over the course of seven years. The result is a very stressed tree with stunted growth. The effect of summer heat is intensified with the DARK stones.”