Q: Is cypress mulch good for roses? Would it have any bad effects?

A: Cypress mulch won’t hurt your roses but I hope you won’t buy any more of it.

One of the causes of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina was that cypress swamps between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico had been cleared by loggers.

With no cypress trees to slow the wind and water, New Orleans was inundated. Pine chip mulch works just as well and comes from pine forests that are less environmentally problematic.

I have no doubt that cypress can be harvested environmentally, I just have no way to determine which product came from the swamps and which did not.

Cypress Distress