WELCOME TO WRIGHT LANDSCAPE SUPPLY ANSWERS

WHAT IS MUSHROOM COMPOST, AND WHY IS IT USED ?

Mushroom compost is a 100% organic mixture of wheat straw, peat moss, cottonseed meal, cottonseed hulls,

corncobs, cocoa bean shells, gypsum, lime, chicken litter, and/or horse stable bedding. This combination of ingredients

is extremely rich in nutrients and is used in commercial mushroom farms to grow mushrooms. (Hence the name

"mushroom" compost.)

This material is composted for many weeks and then placed into a warehouse where it is completely sterilized. Among other things, sterilization prevents

contamination with weeds.

How do I use Mushroom Compost ?

Mushroom compost is very versatile since you can add it into the soil before planting or you can use it for top dressing an existing garden. It is excellent for use in annual or perennial flower beds and vegetable gardens. It is rich in nutrients that make it a great benefit to almost anything you may want to grow. If you are using mushroom compost to lay sod, you can obtain maximum benefit by tilling it into the soil. If used for planting an annual or perennial flower bed or vegetable garden, apply at least a 3-inch layer of mushroom compost on top of your bed and till it in 5-6 inches deep. You won't need to add anything else to your beds for the entire growing season. Mushroom compost is a non-burning fertilizer, and can be spread right up against the stems of your plants. Do not plant directly into the compost, since it is much too rich. It is only non-burning when you till it into the soil or top-dress a garden with existing plants that already have a well-developed root system. A thin layer of mushroom compost can also be applied on top of potting soil in house plants that have proper drainage. Do not use mushroom compost in containers that have no drainage!

How is Mushroom Compost Different From Cow Manure ?

Mushroom compost is shipped directly from mushroom farms at the end of the growing season when the planting trays are emptied. We do not change the composition of this product in any way. There are some bagged products being marketed as mushroom compost that are actually a mixture of other materials with a little bit of mushroom compost added in. It is not true mushroom compost. Unfortunately, cow manure is being marketed in a similar way. The actual amount of pure cow manure in most products is very limited. Unless it is dehydrated cow manure, you're not getting much more than standard potting soil. Mushroom compost has an odor when you buy it that rapidly disappears when applied to your gardens. If it doesn't have an odor when you buy it, it won't be very good. The effectiveness of mushroom compost compared to cow manure is much greater even if it's dehydrated cow manure.

WHAT DOES A "YARD OF MULCH" MEAN ?

What Is A "Cubic Yard" ?

A "cubic yard" is one yard cubed, or a volume measurement of twenty-seven cubic feet. It is the accepted standard of measurement used by the mulch industry for selling bulk landscaping materials. "Bulk" materials are materials that are sold in large quantities. Bulk landscaping products are normally sold loose, not in bags. When purchased, these materials are loaded with a front-loader bucket into the customer’s truck or trailer. To give you a little perspective, in the above photo you can a front loader bucket which contains one-half a cubic yard of mulch. A cubic yard is roughly the same as the back end of a small pick up truck. A full size truck can hold anywhere from 1.5 to 3 cubic yards.

BE CAUTIOUS - Be aware when purchasing and comparing prices given that some mulch dealers will sell by the “scoop” and provide you with various sizes. Many of these “scoops” are a good deal smaller than a cubic yard. Wright Landscape Supply has a large variety of mulches, soils, sand and stone products available in bulk and in bags - and we take pride in providing our customers with a full measurement at all times.

The photo above shows a one-half cubic yard of mulch. Two cubic yards of mulch will fill a standard sized pick-up truck bed. When spread, one cubic yard covers 162 square feet of ground if applied two inches thick. Likewise, two cubic yards will cover 324 square feet of ground two inches thick, and ten cubic yards will cover 1620 square feet of ground two inches thick.

Landscape Material Calculator

To calculate the number of cubic yards required for your next landscaping project, simply click on tand type in your square footage and the thickness (depth) you desire your mulch to be applied. The Landscape Material Calculator will quickly determine the proper cubic yardage you will need and will help you to avoid coming up short or buying excessive material. The cubic yard is a valuable unit of measurement to help assure that you are getting the value you expect when purchasing landscaping materials. Remember, however that the Landscape Material Calculator can provide you with estimates only - just to give you an idea where to start. The exact amount of material needed will vary with each type and method of application.

Another way to figure out how much mulch you will need is to obtain the square footage of the area you want to cover and divide that number by 100. This will give you the number of cubic yards that you need to cover your area. For instance, if you have 750sqft. Divide 750 by 100 and you will get 7.5 - thus you will need 7.5 cubic yards to cover that area at a depth of three inches. If you want to cover an area at a different depth refer to our

Landscape Material Calculator.

WHAT CLIMATE ZONE DO I LIVE IN ?

USDA Map

CLIMATE ZONES

This map shows the climate zones in Ohio. This information is especially useful when purchasing seeds, plants, shrubs or trees which are often labeled with a zone recommendation that tells you the "hardiness" level of that particular plant.

What are Hardiness Zones?

The Plant Hardiness Zones divide the United States and Canada into 11 areas based on a 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in the average annual minimum temperature. (The United States falls within Zones 2 through 10). For example, the lowest average temperature in Zone 2 is -50 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, while the minimum average temperature in zone 10 is +30 to +40 degrees Fahrenheit. If a range of zones, for example, zones 4-9, is indicated, the tree or perennial is known to be hardy in zones 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Suitable hardiness means a plant can be expected to grow in the zone's temperature extremes, as determined by the lowest average annual temperature. Keep in mind that local variations such as moisture, soil, winds, and other conditions might also affect the viability of individual plants.

What zone do you live in?

Enter your zip code in the box below to find your zone number!

[Your browser doesn't support IFrames. <a href="http://www.arborday.org/TreeInfo/ZoneLookup.cfm" target="_blank">Click here</a> to look up your arborday.org hardiness zone.]

WHAT CAN I PLANT THAT WILL ATTRACT BUTTERFLIES ?

Brightly colored butterflies can be a welcome addition to your wildlife garden, not only because of their beauty, but also because of their usefulness in pollinating flowers. Attracting butterflies involves incorporating plants that serve the needs of all life stages of the butterfly. The insects need places to lay eggs, food plants for their larvae (caterpillars), places to form chrysalides and nectar sources for adults.

Butterfly Garden Necessities Plant native flowering plants: Because many butterflies and native flowering plants have co-evolved over time and depend on each other for survival and reproduction, it is particularly important to install native flowering plants local to your geographic area. Native plants provide butterflies with the nectar or foliage they need as adults and caterpillars.

Plant type and color is important: Adult butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink and purple blossoms that are flat-topped or clustered and have short flower tubes.

Plant good nectar sources in the sun: Your key butterfly nectar source plants should receive full sun from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Butterfly adults generally feed only in the sun.

Plant for continuous bloom: Butterflies need nectar throughout the adult phase of their life span. Try to plant so that when one plant stops blooming, another begins.

Say no to insecticides: Insecticides such as malathion, Sevin, and diazinon are marketed to kill insects. Don't use these materials in or near the butterfly garden. Even "benign" insecticides, such as Bacillus thuringiensis, are lethal to butterflies (while caterpillars).

Feed butterfly caterpillars: If you don't "grow" caterpillars, there will be no adults. Bringing caterpillar foods into your garden can greatly increase your chances of attracting unusual and uncommon butterflies. In many cases, caterpillars of a species feed on only a very limited variety of plants. Most butterfly caterpillars never cause the leaf damage we associate with some moth caterpillars such as bagworms, tent caterpillars, or gypsy moths.

Give them a place for puddling: Butterflies often congregate on wet sand and mud to partake in "puddling," drinking water and extracting minerals from damp puddles. Place coarse sand in a shallow pan and then insert the pan in the soil of your habitat. Make sure to keep the sand moist.

Adults also take moisture from damp soil, sand and gravel, urine and fecal deposits, and carrion. This species is a common visitor to mud puddles.

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Common Ohio Butterflies

And the Plants They Like to Eat

Acmon Blue - buckwheat, lupines, milkvetch

Painted Lady (Cosmopolite) - thistles, mallows, nievitas, yellow fiddleneck.

American Painted Lady - cudweed, everlast

Pygmy Blue - saltbush, lamb's quarters, pigweed.

Baird's Swallowtail - dragon sagebrush

Red Admiral - wild cherries, black oaks, aspens, yellow and black birch.

Black Swallowtail - parsley, dill, fennel, Queen Anne’s lace, common rue Alfalfa, red clover, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, thistle, purple coneflower, winter cress, teasel, and ironweed.

Click to enlarge

White Admiral - wild cherries, black oaks, aspens, yellow and black birch.

Coral Hairstreak - wild black cherry, American and chickasaw plum, black chokeberry.

Silver-Spotted Skipper - locusts, wisteria, other legumes Red clover, hop clover, blue vervain, teasel, horseweed, alfalfa, multiflora rose, redbud, tall ironweed, common milkweed, Canada thistle, field thistle, dame's rocket, black raspberry, tall bellflower, self-heal, and many garden flowers.

Pearl Crescent - alfalfa, red clover, white clover, white sweet clover, black mustard, field pepper-grass, bouncing-bet, shrubby cinquefoil, cinquefoil, brambles, pale touch-me-not, wild carrot, common milkweed, butterfly-weed, Indian hemp, peppermint, black-eyed Susan, brown-eyed Susan, wing-stem, Jerusalem artichoke, dandelion, horseweed, small white aster, asters, Philadelphia fleabane, Canada thistle, tall ironweed, spotted Joe-Pye weed, and common boneset.

Pearl Crescent

Spicebush Swallowtail - sassafras, spicebush, red clover, winter cress, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterfly-weed, Joe-Pye weed, thistle, swamp thistle, honeysuckle, teasel, monarda, dame's rocket, brambles, lilac, weigela, and common blue phlox.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Summer Azure

Summer Azure Butterfly

Clouded Sulphur - clover, peas, vetch, alfalfa, asters Alfalfa, red clover, white clover, dandelion, winter cress, common milkweed, butterfly-weed, peppermint, butter-and-eggs, sunflower, horseweed, and asters.

Giant Swallowtail - prickly ash, citrus, common rue, hoptree, gas plant, torchwood.

Variegated Fritillary - passion flower, maypop, violets, stonecrop, purslane.

Gray Comma - gooseberry, azalea, elm

Viceroy - willows, cottonwood, aspen It is always found close to willow and poplar trees. These trees are the host plants for the Viceroy larvae.

Viceroy Butterfly

Great Purple Hairstreak - mistletoe

Eastern Tailed Blue - lupine, red clover, white clover, alfalfa, yellow sweet clover, white sweet clover, soybeans, shrubby cinquefoil, blue vervain, Indian hemp, butterfly-weed, peppermint, common boneset, asters, and brambles.

Gulf Fritillary - maypops, other passion vines

Great Spangled Fritillary - common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterfly-weed, Indian hemp, red clover, alfalfa, teasel, buttonbush, bull thistle, Canada thistle, field thistle, ironweed, black-eyed Susan, spotted Joe-Pye weed, oxeye daisy, wild bergamot, and St. john's-wort.

Click to enlarge

Henry's Elfin - redbud, dahoon and yaupon hollies, maple-leaved viburnum, blueberries.

Woodland Skipper - grasses

Karner Blue - Beginning the late 1980s this little guy could no

longer be found in the state of Ohio. The Karner Blue's habitat

had been destroyed by residential and commercial land

development. The Karner Blue is generally associated with oak

savannas, wild lupines, prairie grasses, and nectar plants such as butterfly weed. (Female)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - willow, plum, alder, sycamore, hoptree, ash, alfalfa, red clover, rue-anemone, dandelion, common blue phlox, common milkweed, butterfly-weed, Joe-Pye weed, spotted Joe-Pye weed, redbud, ironweed, teasel, Canada thistle, swamp thistle, thistle, dame's rocket, Indian hemp, rosin-weed, purple coneflower, ragwort, hawthorn, lilac, and garden flowers such as impatiens, violets, periwinkle, and garden phlox. wild black cherry, ash, tulip tree, willow, sweetbay, basswood. (dark female)

Dark Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

American Copper - The American Copper larvae feed on sheep

sorrel and rarely curled dock. The adults spend a lot of time on

white flowers.

Orange Sulphur

Little Yellow

Red Spotted Purple

Little Wood Satyr

Common Wood Nymph

Meadow Fritillary

Eastern Comma

Question Mark

Mourning Cloak

Banded Hairstreak - Like many of the other hairstreak, the banded hairstreak spends most of its time high in the tops of oak trees. They come down to nectar in the morning and again in the late afternoon. Their favorite flower is white dogbane.

Edwards Hairstreak

Juvenal's Duskywing

Wild Indigo Duskywing

Horace's Duskywing

Sleepy Duskywing

Falcate Orangetip

Buckeye

Monarch – milkweed, red clover, alfalfa, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterfly-weed, Indian hemp, wild carrot, dame's rocket, Canada thistle, thistles, horseweed, tall ironweed, spotted Joe-Pye weed, common boneset, goldenrod, asters, teasel, lilac, and numerous garden flowers.

Monarch Butterfly

Zebra Swallowtail – pawpaw

European Cabbage White - alfalfa, red clover, white clover, white sweet clover, yellow sweet clover, dame's rocket, black mustard, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, shrubby cinquefoil, wood sorrel, loosestrife, Indian-hemp, seff-heal, catnip, giant hyssop, peppermint, swamp milkweed, blue vervain, whorled rosin-weed, wing-stem, sunflower, dandelion, bur-marigold, chicory, horseweed, Canada thistle, Aster spp., ironweed, Joe-Pye weed, spotted Joe-Pye weed, common boneset, ground-ivy, red henbit, sweet alyssum, teasel, and loosestrife.

Alfalfa Butterfly - (Orange Sulphur) alfalfa, red clover, alsike clover, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, self-heal, teasel, peppermint, horseweed, purple coneflower, sunflower, wing-stem, chicory, asters, Canada thistle, ironweed, common boneset, great blue lobelia, and goldenrods.

Spring Azure - redbud, white clover, yellow sweet clover, wild carrot, wild parsnip, narrowleaf dogwood, flowering dogwood, early saxifrage, wing-stem, common boneset, New Jersey tea, violet, pussy-toes, staghom sumac, hawthorn, rhubarb, blackberry, and a wide variety of garden flowers.

Wood Sayter - Common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterfly-weed, Indian hemp, red clover, alfalfa, teasel, buttonbush, bull thistle, Canada thistle, field thistle, ironweed, black-eyed Susan, spotted Joe-Pye weed, oxeye daisy, wild bergamot, and St. john's-wort.

The Luna Moth is not a butterfly, but an incredibly beautiful cousin - and my personal favorite. Photos cannot capture the delicacy and luminescence of their wings. NPR states that they grow to 3 - 4 inches, but I have seen them as large as 5 - 6 inches. Sadly, they only live for about two weeks. Although they are rarely seen elsewhere, they are plentiful here at Wright Landscape. We love our customers, but anyone who comes here and messes with them will be converted to mulch. Fair warning.