Hey all,
I'm stuck inside today due to weather so I figured I might as well ask a question I've been wondering about.

Has anyone ever planted semps in an area that is heavily mulched with wood? All areas that my semps are planted in are rock mulched, but I have two long bed areas that are mulched with cedar.
In the future I'd eventually like to put some semps in there too, but does wood mulch retain too much moisture on the surface and cause semp rot? I've always assumed so, so I'm just wondering about other's experiences.

I've given some thought to drilling/hollowing out rocks and/or using driftwood to keep the semps above and isolated from the excess moisture. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

I don't have semps themselves planted in mulch, but i have them planted in pots and the pots buried in mulch up to a little below the rims.
this yellow sandbox is full of mulch that way.
I.ve had to change my planting habits because my back yard has become a 7 month swamp!!
cliff

Cool pics, thanks!
I use a similar method to bury my agaves so they can be assured of great drainage and are easier to remove (hopefully) in the winter. This is the first year I've tried something like this.

I dig the hole wider and about 3-4" deeper than needed, then line the bottom excess space with Alabama sunset-sized rocks. Put the pot in then fill the side gaps with the rocks, then mulch with rocks. When done, you can't even tell they are in pots.

I guess I could try something similar with semps.

The first year I had semps I used wood mulch and it was fine in the summer but not good in our wet winters here.
I think if you live in an area that gets snow cover it would be okay but not as the first option. Just my 2cents!!
Cliff I do like your semp pool!

Thanks Greg.
So did you lose some due to the wet winter?

We get snow, but I think it might possibly be too wet overall. I guess I need to find a way to keep some semps in pots, while not looking like they are in pots. While also mixing different types of mulch without looking too weird.

I might try my idea of planting in hollowed rocks or something...

The hollowed rocks sound very cool! Yes I did lose some semps but I only had a few and most were fine, and it seemed to make room for more chicks. I noticed right away that the plants responded well to the crushed rock top dressing - they looked happier within a day or so!!

JC, I recently covered my entire front yard in cedar wood chips fresh from the 60 ft cedar tree that had to be taken down before it fell down onto my house. Never thought to plant semps there as area is large, full exposure to sun, deer wandering up and down the street in late afternoon, watering would take too long, etc. I feel more comfortable in planting into a large container or small bed of an area that has different exposures during the course of the day.

I personally wouldn't mulch my semps with wood. I'm sure it would hold too much moisture - especially in winter, like Greg said.

Okay, thanks for all the info everyone.
I guess I just now need to find a way to hollow out large enough rocks that I can plant in.
Of course, I'll get one entirely drilled out, then when I go to drill a drainage hole, it'll split in half...

Hopefully not, JC!

drill drainage hole first maybe??

Hehe, I constantly fall victim to Murphy's Law.
If I were to drill the drainage hole first, then while drilling/hollowing the final bit of the rock out, the rock will crack.

webesemps said:Hopefully not, JC!

Ditto