Cottonwood leaves
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Matt K
Eurycotis
Elm no. Very little stored nutritional value. Cottonwood- should be fine, definately not harmful. When I have run out of local oak leaves and I dont have time to go gather any, I have bought them from someone online before, PM me if you want thier address. High quality hardwood leaves.
I've used slippery elm with some success. I've had a small amount of cottonwood in some mixes but don't know if it's good as a primary food.
Matt: Where do you find information on dead leaf nutrition?
Matt: Where do you find information on dead leaf nutrition?
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Matt K
Eurycotis
Ok, allow me to clarify my previous post:
I suspect that elm leaves have no nutritional value, based on (randomly listed observations) and my drawn conclusion:
I have been gardening and growing trees for 40 years. In that time I have found that elm leaves in general make soil more acidic. More substantial leaves make the soil more neutral in pH values. If you make compost with a clay-based soil and exclusively leaves from elms, another with oaks, another with pecans, another with pine needles, etc., you may find that the elm leaves decomposed or 'burned up' the fastest. Then plant something in that same soil mix and the same something in a soil mix made with oak leaves (for example). The plant will do better in the oak leaf compost. You can also observe the grass growing under said trees, and see similar results if the amount of sunlight is similar.
Now aside from all this, some elms may be alot better than others. The American Elm and Slippery Elm could be better than Lacebark elm or Cedar elm.
I could go on but I am sure you can see where I am coming from- no scientific facts on this, just my observations and personal conclusions.... this may call for some experimentation! I know of a home lab experiment that may be very interesting....
I suspect that elm leaves have no nutritional value, based on (randomly listed observations) and my drawn conclusion:
I have been gardening and growing trees for 40 years. In that time I have found that elm leaves in general make soil more acidic. More substantial leaves make the soil more neutral in pH values. If you make compost with a clay-based soil and exclusively leaves from elms, another with oaks, another with pecans, another with pine needles, etc., you may find that the elm leaves decomposed or 'burned up' the fastest. Then plant something in that same soil mix and the same something in a soil mix made with oak leaves (for example). The plant will do better in the oak leaf compost. You can also observe the grass growing under said trees, and see similar results if the amount of sunlight is similar.
Now aside from all this, some elms may be alot better than others. The American Elm and Slippery Elm could be better than Lacebark elm or Cedar elm.
I could go on but I am sure you can see where I am coming from- no scientific facts on this, just my observations and personal conclusions.... this may call for some experimentation! I know of a home lab experiment that may be very interesting....
I've always regarded oak as the highest quality feeding leaf, with maples coming in quickly behind. There aren't a lot of oak forests around here, mainly maple, but the area where oak is found, despite constant human disruption and interference, appear to have an abundance of healthy wildlife.