Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Cultivation => Composts => Topic started by: Matt Rose on September 22, 2018, 05:54:44 PM
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Further to a post of 2010 Re. Sycamore leaf-mould:
I've got a lot of 2 & 3 year-old majority-Sycamore leaf-mould. Was thinking of using to top-dress & seed after scarifying & aerating turf on very light but seriously compacted soil.
Before doing I read Bob Flowerdew's "Complete book of companion gardening" and found in reference to Sycamore, p.119... "Very little will germinate where the leaves decay."
Does anyone have a second opinion?
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I have not found this to be true. My leafmould must be about 50% sycamore and it is fine to use - the leaves just take a bit longer than, say, oak or beech, to break down.
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As others have reported in that thread ( http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=5898.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=5898.0) ) well rotted sycamore leaves can make good mulch and compost.
I believe Bob Flowerdew's comments refer to the length of time whole sycamore leaves can take to break down and therefore they can make a dense cover under trees which deter growth there. This is not a problem with well -rotted leaves, or those which have been shredded beforehand to enable faster rotting down.