Arborist Wood Chips Explained

So, you are looking for wood chips eh?

It’s probably worth understanding what you get before you get it.

Once the chips drop, you can’t put that horse back in the stable. It aint going back into the truck.

There are four things to understand:

1) Benefits of Wood Chips

2) Refined vs. Unrefined Wood Chips

3) Quantity of Wood Chips

4) Price of Wood Chips

1) Benefits of Wood Chips

Wood chips are excellent for 2 primary reasons:

First, they keep water in the soil so that it cannot evaporate quickly. Let’s say you go away for vacation for 1 week in the summer and no one is around to water your trees and plants, well if you add wood chips this will be less of a concern.

Secondly, wood chips slowly break down, re-feeding your tree. Most roots that feed a tree and keep it healthy exist within the top 12-18" of soil. If no new material is added to the soil then the roots can and will struggle. Adding mulch is the easiest long-term solution to this.

Yes, compost and liquid fertilizers can help with this, but they are not long term solutions.

2) Refined vs. Unrefined

Unrefined wood chips are the raw material straight out of the wood chipper. Every part of a tree, excluding its roots, will be found in unrefined wood chips.

It is fantastic because it keeps the most steady supply of nutrients feeding the tree. The little leaves break down in a few weeks, the twigs break down in a few months, and the larger chips may break down in 1-2 years.

It has two downsides:

a) Unrefined chips are more likely to carry diseases from infected trees. This usually won’t pose a problem for your tree, but the possibility is there. With unrefined chips, it is pretty hard to say precisely which tree the wood chips are from.

b) The look. Since unrefined chips have every part of a tree but the roots, some people don’t like the look of leaves and twigs mixed in with their garden. Those who prefer a natural look don’t mind. Those who prefer a heavily manicured garden usually don’t like this.

*TIP* You could help avoid this latter scenario. Order unrefined chips sometime between the late Fall and early Spring when there are less leaves going through the wood chipper.

I almost forgot two other small but important pieces of information. Refined wood chips usually cost money. Also, only a select few arborist companies produce their own refined wood chips. Count on only one or two for every large municipality.

3) Quantity of Wood Chips

VERY IMPORTANT!

Do not call up a tree service company asking for wood chips and use the word, “ONLY”. Arborists hate that word. They are likely to flat out turn you down, or do the more painful approach and ignore you after you call.

DON’T use the word. And don’t shoot me, the messenger, for saying it.

If you ONLY want 5 yards of mulch. If you ONLY want oak and maple. If you ONLY can receive wood chips on Fridays.

Arborists ONLY want to hang up.

Get rid of the word from your arborist-speak lexicon.

If you only want a particular quantity or type of chips then you will likely be more successful reaching out to a landscaper or garden supply store.

Arborists specialize in LARGE quantities of wood chips. Let me help you understand how much...

Think of your average full-service bathroom, it has a bathtub, sink, toilet, plus some room to play (but not actually play because that is dangerous). A load of wood chips from an arborist could very likely fill that bathroom, from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It isn’t a small quantity.

But it is the perfect amount to share with a friend or if you have a really big yard and garden.

4) Price of Wood Chips

Price will depend mainly on if you want refined or unrefined wood chips.

Unrefined chips can oftentimes be sourced for free. You can search for companies that offer this service utilizing our database.

While it may be free for unrefined chips, if you are looking for them right away then this may mean that the company has to make a special trip to get you the wood chips, in which case, it may come with a price.