No Jeff, there are no future plans for a croton garden tour of the Moose Land in 2012.
Also, the Moose must confess that he did not hit a Fire Sale at a Southern Nursery.

My truck is filled with the 7th load of free mulch from the City of Hialeah. The truck's capacity is equivalent to 100 bags of mulch. So I have spread approximately 700 bags of mulch. At $2.00 a bag, I figured I have realized a savings of $1400. Plus my mulching efforts have saved these organic debris from ending up a land fill.
Mulch benefits :
A. Keeps soil and root zone of your croton cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter. Example:I had a young
Geisha Girl burn to the ground from cold from the 2009 winter season. Because of my heavy hand with mulch, there was enough of a stem and roots protected by the insultating mulch that she was able to regenerate (albeit slowly).
B. Breaks down and adds organic material to your soil. This may decrease your Ph level. Also when you fertilize, organic material will absorb the mineral salts and keep it available to your croton's root zone longer.
C. When mulched, you will create a "living soil". All kinds of microbes and earthworms will be the result. Remember, the croton ancestors of the cultivars we enjoy today came from tropical islands that thrived in lots of leaf litter and "living soils"
D. Retains water in the root zone by slowing down evaporation. Crotons love water as long as their roots are not "sitting in it" (root rot) for extended periods.
E. Makes crotons look nicer and if a thick layer is applied, helps the weeds from taking over. I supplement my regular grandular fertilizer feeding with water soluble feeding of the leaves during the growing season every 14 days. This will really crank up the weeds if you do not have a nice layer of mulch around the drip line of your plants.
Unfortunately, this is not my last load of free mulch needed. Trying to get it all down before the rains show up. Time is running out.
