Mulch is useful for landscaping because it controls weeds and holds moisture in the soil to keep plants healthy. Wood chips and shavings are a popular type of mulch since they are natural and nourish the soil when they break down. They even add beauty to your yard by breaking up the green color of your lawn and plants. Here are some things to know about wood chips and shavings.

Colored Wood Is Available

At one time, colored wood chips were often contaminated with arsenic found in the dye, and that caused people to mistrust them. Now, iron oxide and carbon-based colors are used; these are non-toxic and don't harm your soil or the environment.

However, a point to consider is that colored wood chips and shavings are usually made out of recycled wood. That's because recycled wood is much drier than virgin wood and dry wood can be dyed more easily. There may be concern over the source of the wood since there might still be a lot of wood that was pressure treated with arsenic in the recycled market.

If you like the look of redwood mulch, just be aware of the possibility the wood could be contaminated since it's recycled and could contain toxic chemicals. If you want to avoid the risk of contaminants, then choose virgin wood chips, nuggets, or shavings.

Wood Mulch Comes In Different Styles

Natural wood products usually aren't treated with any insecticides or other chemicals, but it's always good to ask your supplier if you have any concerns. Some chips come from the bark of the tree. For instance, you can buy pine chips made from bark that have an interesting appearance since the chips are fairly large and it's easy to identify the wood is pine.

You can also buy wood nuggets and shreds. Popular species include pine, cypress, cedar, melaleuca, and eucalyptus. Your choices may be based on the common trees grown in your area since the mulch supplier may get some of their inventory from tree trimmers.

The different species of wood have different colors so you can choose the color that would complement your yard the best. The way the mulch is made makes a difference too, as fine shreds have a much different appearance from big wood chips.

You Can Buy Mulch Loose Or In Bags

You can buy wood chips and shavings in large quantities and have them delivered to your home. You might want to buy bags since bags are easy to stack and store, and you can carry them from place to place easily. However, you can also have a big mound of loose bulk shavings delivered and dumped on your driveway.

This might be a good option if you'll be able to spread the mulch around fairly quickly. If you have a shovel and wheelbarrow, working with bulk chips is easy. Having the wood chips delivered to your home is easy too, especially since you won't have to load up your car with heavy bags just to get your new mulch home.