Bark mulch and wood chips can be made from many types of trees. Often you’ll see bark mulch made from fir or hemlock trees. One of our favorites here at Triple Five Bulk Bags is red & white cedar wood chips. These wood chips are made of a mix of red and white cedar trees.
First, let’s talk about the difference between red cedar and white cedar.
Red cedar
Red cedars are often referred to as ‘western reds’. They grow from southern Alaska, through British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains. Red cedars can grow all the way down to northern California. They can grow to be enormous, with many trees topping 200 feet in height (nearly 61 meters). The trunks as large as 10 feet (3.3 meters) across.
Red cedar is popular for many reasons here in the Lower Mainland. As red cedar grows locally, it is more affordable. There’s many other benefits! Red cedars can resist decay and repel water. It’s a lighter weight wood, making building with the wood easy.
White cedar
White cedars have similar features. Northern white cedars are common throughout Ontario. They do not grow as large as western red cedar, only getting as large as a quarter of the size. They have similar features and are even lighter weight as a wood, making it ideal for building canoes. When we talk about white cedars, we often mean yellow cedars.
Yellow cedar
Yellow cedar is probably what you picture with things like canoe paddles. Boats with woodwork often will use yellow cedar. It’s a beautiful golden color, and we sometimes call it Alaska cedar. It grows from Alaska to Oregon. British Columbia is home to yellow cedar trees, especially here in the Fraser Valley.
Bark mulch made from yellow cedar is desirable for many reasons. The wood itself is hard and dense, as the trees themselves gow very slowly. Yellow cedar is still a lightweight wood, but is very strong and durable. Because of this, it can last longer than other bark mulches. It’s one of the most expensive types of cedars.
Summary
Bark mulches and wood chips made from cedar are beautiful, fragrant, and look great. Triple Five Bulk Bags makes custom wood chips blend to give you the best of combining these types of cedars. All our cedars are sourced from local saw mills in the Lower Mainland. We’ve been providing quality wood products to home owners, strata corporations, and landscaping companies at wholesale prices. We deliver right to your driveway, making hauling bags of soil in the car a thing of the past! Start shopping with us now and have your landscaping materials delivered to your home in 72 hours!