Right Dress
Root Bark Mulch.

What makes Right Dress licorice root mulch so special?

1) It is a natural mulch that is has an abundance of the nutrients required to grow healthy plants.

2) It improves the tilth and friability of soil as it decomposes.

3) It is resistant to artillery fungus.

4) It naturally suppresses weeds.Glycyrrhiza glabra, licorice, is a perennial and member of the Leguminosae family. 

The root is imported from Central Asia for processing by MAFCO Worldwide, in Camden, NJ, to extract glycyrrhizic acid and other compounds for various products: it is a confectionary flavoring; it keeps the head on your beer; it is a foaming agent for fire extinguishers, and has medicinal applications.  Right Dress is the steam processed remains of the licorice root.  No chemicals are used during the extraction process, which is certified each year by the University of North Carolina Horticultural Substrates Laboratory for the Soil and Mulch Council.  It has also been tested at The University of Connecticut and Brookside Laboratories, in Ohio, to verify nutritional content.  It is recommended for use by the Philadelphia Horticultural Society and The National Chrysanthemum Society.  Ken Druse is quoted in a New York Times article referring to it as the “Rolls Royce of mulches”. And, Rodale Press recognizes licorice root pulp as “a nitrogen rich fertilizer and mulch”. 

The most important feature of licorice root mulch for gardeners is the fact that the Carbon to Nitrogen ratio is 24.43 to 1.  This means nitrogen, the most important nutrient for healthy plants, is available to whatever is growing in your garden beds.  Contrast that with wood based mulches which have ratios of >25:1 and are known to cause nitrogen immobilization, meaning the mycelium that break down organic matter and process nitrogen before plants are able.

We like Right Dress licorice root mulch for all these reasons and the fact that the dark color is all natural- no dyes. After application, the shredded root fibers settle and interlock so they don’t blow or wash away like woody chipped mulches. And - it looks great in your gardens all the while providing nutrients to your gardens and improving the soil.