Oak leaves as mulch?

I'm attempting to make a small shade garden for my ferns and Coleus. The sun is moving into it's summer position and they no longer have the protection of the shade from the house, so it's either move 'em or lose 'em. The problem is that the shade is made by oak trees that seem to shed year round. I guess it's a Florida thing. *sigh*

Anyway....there's no way I can keep the oak leaves cleared out, so can I just let them fall and say they're mulch, or is there something in them the Coleus won't like? I don't worry about the ferns because the wild ferns are spreading like crazy! I'm also going to FINALLY plant my poor Azaleas that are ignoring the fact that they should already be dead from root-boundness and are still blooming, bless their hearts.
Pati

P.S. This is the first time I am actually putting stuff in the ground, have only done containers up to now.

This message was edited Apr 21, 2005 12:37 PM

Pati.

How have you escaped putting things in the ground?

I won't worry about the leaves, only the mess that they could make. There are always leaf vaccuums/blowers. I saw my son use a leave vac this weekend while I was up north. It worked pretty good. With him buying it, I am sure that it came from HD.

Hap

I heard that oak leaves are not good for plants.

Hap, I don't put things in the ground because I'm older than dirt and my knees don't bend! LOL Fortunately I have short legs so I can bend double and touch my hands flat on the ground. Needless to say this is not a position to spend a great deal of time in, besides you can get your butt sunburned!!!!

Makshi, what is the problem with leaves? Is it a chemical thing? I don't know where to start looking for information.
Pati

Pati, My DGM could do that hands on the ground thing into her late 80's and I being 5'11' still can't.
Oak leaves are great for acid loving plants, and azealeas love that acid.
I think mine and I have 4 Huge oaks, 3 - live and 1 - water that shed.
The Live oaks push out old leaves with new, so shed heavy in the spring.
The acorns are the worst from the one water oak in back. The leaves also keep roots cooler.
Many of the coleus will be fine, just give em a short soak in the afternoon.
how big is your coleus bed, I may have to post you some goodies.
Do yoy have any water polymer crystals? planting with them helps slow my water perculation down.
I swellthem with H2O2 first, dig em into sand/ potting soil and then plant away.

Sugar,

What this about Polymer crystal? What are they?

Hap

Thanks Sugar. The soil here is very sandy so I plan to dig a hole and mix the potting soil into it. Does that sound like a plan to you? I have to water every day because I have Begonias and two window boxes under the overhang that the rain never touches. The heat here really dries out containers so when I repot I will look into the crystals. My tiny shade garden is growing in my mind...if I can just get this !@#@$brier out of my thumb!
Pati

Pati......it you're here you are not opening your box!!!!! Can we just peek?

Just opened the box...and am thrilled with the plants! Much larger than I expected, and not a leaf broken. This is what I have:

(3) Sedona
(3) Florida Sunset
(2) The Boss

I have (3) Kong Madrias coming from another company, I just hope they're as nice as these.

Now I'm going to work on this brier and get out and plant before it gets too hot.
Happy Pati

Oakleaves makes wonderful mulch. The typical reason why plants languish under oak trees are due to competition with tree roots, too much shade, and compact soil. But oakleaves are fine as mulch. They do not mat down easily as other leaves may and therefore you do not necerssarily need to remove them from the ground. If they seem to cover a plant, you can always just move a few handfuls away, but typically this is not needed. I have ferns under oak trees, and they push up through the leaves every year.

Just adding a note on the acidicity issue: contrary to common belief, oak leaves do not make the soil acidic. Oakleaves (leaf mold) by nature is acidic, but not to the point where it prevents plant growth. Don't be scared of the oak leaves.

This message was edited Apr 22, 2005 8:55 AM

Thanks so much for the info on the Oak leaves. Our little town boasts that they have more varieties of oaks than anywhere in the country. I don't know if this is true, but any oak is protected by law. Even if it's on your property you have to get a county permit to cut a tree with a trunk over a certain amount of inches. Needless to say we probably have the largest squirrel population in the country too!
Pati

Quickly, Polymer crystals look like gritts but wet, like chipped Ice. They absorb and release water as roots need it. Look in propagation forum for Gel crystal and I ordered from Aqua ? Gotta get car packed!!!
My yard perks at 55mph. All sand get water retaining potting soil it has them in it.
Yours will do great Pati
Hugs to all
Sidney

Have a SAFE trip Sugar. Never mind poor little ole' me, I'll just pout in a corner and think about all the fun the RU is going to be...without me. *sigh* Don't know what Darius is going to have at her KOA, but know it'll be good.

Have fun,. bless your little heart.
Pati

We have a huge Mountain Oak in front of the house and all the leaves are used as mulch.... I was just too lazy to rake them all up, so I used a leaf blower and blew them into my planters in the fall. I have fern and hosta and lily of the valley and they all are thriving with oak leaves as mulch... and nearly no weeds...

Carolyn

Carolyn, I'm feeling better all the time about the leaves! My daughter (and most people here) use a red mulch. It looks fine in more formal beds, but somehow doesn't seem as natural in a little "wild" shade garden as the leaves.
Pati

Dear Patti,
I have twelve oak trees up here in MA. You should shred your oak leaves somehow. We have a vac and mulch which is good for the giant pick up in the spring and then my son uses the lawn mower with the bag to get the ones I rake out from under the shrubs and off the hostas. We have a chain link fence on the eastern side of our property that catches huge bag loads of leaves as they blow along with the wind and they have to be taken off the hostas along side the driveway so they won't be shaded out completely. I put the shreds back down as mulch regularly and have for years. I have more trees than any of my neighbors but I never put any leaves in the trash. Just roll your lawn mower over the pile and then put the shreds down where you want them. I find that a brown leaf compost starter works well if you put them in a compost pile. they do take a long time to break down. Oh, and my doggie, Noodles, thinks that they are all dog toys put down just for her to chase and play with.

Thanks so much gardenmart. Our oaks have tiny llittle leaves that are brittle when they turn brown. The lawn mower makes dust of them and they just fall back on the grass. The area where my shade is can't be reached with the mower, so they have made a nice carpet. The ferns just love it. Now, I hope the Coleus and Azaleas like it as well.

Since you aren't from the south, maybe you didn't know that the name of Ashely Wilkes' plantation in "Gone With the Wind" was named Twelve Oakes? Ah the things you learn on DG! *giggle*
Pati

See Pati, and look how his coleus grew!

Hap

Hi Hap. Just came in from potting up some Coleus. No, not the new ones, letting them rest a bit, cuttings from my suvivors from the 'canes last year. I have a black keyboard and I can't even see my fingernails on it! LOL. SHOWER TIME
Pati

Patti, yours sound like pin oaks and don't need shreding.
I stopped in Tipton and found the most gorgeous Kong Coleus in a pot so there are 5 of them.
I gotta get to partying, so will see ya later.
Please don't pout, we'll have a toast to ya.
Sidney

Yes, Patti, I do know! LOL! except a couple are not the grand ones in the movie. these are mostly white and a couple red. big leaves. but great you don't have to shred.

Martha

The kinds of Oaks are phenominal aren't they. My Live oaks are leathery,
those pins are thin & thin.