Slate and Bark chippings night!

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cordyman

Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by cordyman »

Spent £10 in b+q on slate and bark, wanted to put some slate in pots and bark around my Dicksonia antarctica and Boo's.

The bark has REALLY grown on me, since seeing it in various gardens on here, makes me consider doing the whole garden now :lol:

Think the boos have a real natural forest floor type insulation/moisture barrier now icon_thumleft


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Fortune + Acer slated and soil barked

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Musa's

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Wonder if the washy will benefit from the heating up of the dark slate in the sun further warming the roots for growth?
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Potted boos

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Vulcano

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Robusta Campbell hedge

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After a misting
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Trudytropics

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by Trudytropics »

Great job Cordy, the plum slate really sets off the green of the plants, keep going and do the lot :lol:
Rachelpalm

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by Rachelpalm »

Hello
the slate looks great. Half my borders are slated and I love it. I did years ago use bark, but the birds kept flicking it everywhere and I was forever clearing it up. Some of my palms in pots have slate and it finishes the look off. And birds cannot throw it about, lol
Conifers
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Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by Conifers »

cordyman wrote: The bark has REALLY grown on me,
Didn't know you were a tree :?:

:lol:
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Dave Brown
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Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by Dave Brown »

Not sure where the "night" bit comes into the title, do you remove it all during the day. Or sounds like some sort of event you are holding. " Join us for a 'Slate and Bark' party. :lol:

I have used both, as a mulch, and the bark gives a natural woodland-y look so goes well with the more jungly plants and as a mulch cuts down too much evaporation from the soil, which is a big problem here in summer. It also holds moisture so raises the humidity at ground level which is good for jungly plants :wink: The downside is as has been said, the Blackbirds chuck it everywhere except where you want it EVERY DAY :ahhh!: , and also that it cools the soil temp down, as cools as it evaporates the moisture it holds, and insulates from summer sun and warmth. I have bought some fine garden netting and intend to peg this over the barked areas using old 2.5sqmm mains cable (neutral, the black colour) hoops to hold it in place. :wink:

The slate looks good in pots, tubs, and beds and also stops evaporation, i heats up nicely transferring the heat to the ground and trapping it overnight. However as it dries very quickly so the humidity above is lower, therefore, this is better for plants that don't mind drier conditions around the leaves. :wink:
Best regards
Dave
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Adam D
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Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by Adam D »

Good job cordyman.

I like the use of the slate in the pots. I have only ever used horticultural grit for that purpose.

I use bark chips for my front garden and interestingly enough I put some more down on Wednesday. I had not realised how much the old stuff had faded because when the new stuff went down it looked almost black as it was slightly wet.

Interesting comments about the humidity Dave. Never thought about the slate losing humidity very quickly. I only have some around a bamboo down at the bottom of my back garden.
kata

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by kata »

Nice effect Cordy with the slate,

The only bugbear is as Dave said the chipped bark gets everywhere as the birds look for worms/insects. My other bugbear is its horrid looking when dry......I love it wet.

Things you don't want hide under the bark like Earwigs/Beetles etc.

Slate for me as a choice. :lol:
gdudey

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by gdudey »

I use a bit of slate as weed control around my succulents. I did use gravel but the local cats would dig it up and wreck the plants. :(

I was thinking of using bark chipping my concern is that the bark would soak up the water and it wouldn't get to the roots of the plants.
cordyman

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by cordyman »

Dave Brown wrote:Not sure where the "night" bit comes into the title, do you remove it all during the day. Or sounds like some sort of event you are holding. " Join us for a 'Slate and Bark' party. :lol:

I said to the missus "get me a cold beer out the fridge and stick me tea on, its Slate and Bark chippings night" as I drove off from the house to b+q. Got back consumed tea and drank beer whilst partaking in the festivites of laying down the bark :lol: :lol: She thinks i've lost the plot :lol:


Thanks for everyones advice, I rarely see birds in the garden as my two cats are always skulking about so hopefully no astray chippings on the lawn!

I forgot to do my t-rex pot, would that be better with bark or slate?
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The Codfather
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Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by The Codfather »

I have had both.......the only one I can see an small issue with is the musa ! the pups will have to work hard to try and push that out of the way.
AKA - Martin

Wish list - Big Palms or Dicksonia antarctica's but open to anything really.....Cash Waiting !
cordyman

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by cordyman »

Don't really want pups in the pot so is that a bad thing? :lol:
cordyman

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by cordyman »

The Codfather wrote:I have had both.......the only one I can see an small issue with is the musa ! the pups will have to work hard to try and push that out of the way.

It seems the pups have no trouble getting the slate out the way :shock:


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Tom2006
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Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by Tom2006 »

Looks great! I use a similar thing but I'm considering removing from my palms as I struggle to know when to water. is there a way around this?
Most wanted list - Any Young Trachycarpus and/or fern.
cordyman

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by cordyman »

I usually water my trachys everynight when its warm, and my washy once a week - never usually check the soil :lol: :oops:
cordyman

Re: Slate and Bark chippings night!

Post by cordyman »

The bananas are definetely getting on with the slate and pushing through now

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Since barking the Robusta Campbells they've been throwing up loads of new culms, look at all the checkered ones drunken_smilie1 icon_sunny

Bark maintaining the bamboo loving damper soil? or just culm season?

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