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| My many lantana's branches/leaves were killed in the last few freezes. I cut them back and allowed the debris to dry. I am getting ready to shred them and add them to the compost pile. Are they still considered a green or are they now a brown since they died on the bush. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I had a similar issue with leaves that froze on the trees, discussed here. Lloyd |
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| The Carbon to Nitrogen ratio of leaves will vary, depending on age, from 35 or 40 to 1 to 80, or so, to 1. Freezing will have little affect. Woody stems will have a C:N ratio, again depending on age, of between 80:1 to 400:1. I know, from years of experience, that freshly cut and chipped trees will heat up when piled deep enough even of no other N source is added. |
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| From: Compost Gardener.com "Not All Leaves are Alike Leaves are collectively categorized with a C/N ratio of around 60. This places them firmly in the 'browns' or high carbon category of the compost pile. Their actual C/N ratios range from around 20 to over 100. It isn't just the C/N ratio that tells how your leaves will perform in a compost. Decomposition is linked to the relative amounts of nitrogen, lignin and calcium they contain. According to Ken Thompson, author of Compost (whose book I love for its straight forward info and humor), these are useful categories to use when composting leaves. Good Leaves - those lower in lignin and higher is calcium and nitrogen - includes ash, cherry, elm, linden, maple, poplar and willow. Break down in about a year. Read from the Original Website: http://www.the-compost-gardener.com/composting-leaves.html#ixzz1eqbljQ
fa My own thoughts, rather than label 'good' and 'bad' leaves, I'd label them, slow, medium, and fast, say for magnolia, oak and maple. The number one factor in how quickly they break down is the size IMHO. Oak leaves finely reduced by my shredder compost more quickly than once-mowed maple and sweet gum leaves. What do lantana leaves look like? Are they green, colorful, brown? |
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| Loyd - Thanks for the link to the thread. Robertz6 - A lantana is a flowering bush. The leaves are normally green and very soft. The branches are woody. But the freeze got to the leaves while they were still on the lantana. Now the leaves are all brown and dead. |
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| Off subject here. I wait till late Spring to trim my yellow lantana, after it has put out new growth. This is so I will not trim off live limbs. I just throw them in the to be shredded pile & use them as browns. |
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| It's interesting to know some materials will heat up even on their own. Since I live in the city and can't compost everything from my garden, when I cut grass I collect clippings and keep them in a large paper bag until City comes to collect which is about every second week. As the bags with grass clippings and other garden debris sit in the garage after about 4 or five days become quite hot. |
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- Posted by aardvark411 5 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 4, 11 at 11:23
| Hi Yugoslava, Please be careful with those hot grass clippings in your garage and spontaneous combustion. I heard a news report a couple of years back where someone had spread fresh wood chips too close to the house and they ended up catching the house on fire. If anything, store your grass clippings in a metal can until you can put them out. |
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