Best use of mulch

[annie8]

My f-in law has cut down a hedge and shredded it and I’ve got the chance of bags of this. Am debating how best to use it in the garden. I could put it round some of my rasps to stop the weeds? I also have really poor soil in my front garden which is brick hard in places and wondering if I use it there. I also could use some round plants at the back border like acers that might like a bit of mulch? I take it it wouldn’t be a problem if I put some down now and compost over it later this year? Any other things it is good for? If I don’t move fast my husband will use it on the paths.

[Penellype]

I would prioritize places that are hard to weed such as under shrubs and the backs of borders, particularly around permanent plants. I don't think mulching on top of brick hard soil will help much unless the mulch is fairy soft, in which case worms might be able to pull it in and improve the soil. I'd also be reluctant to put compost on top of it as wood apparently takes nitrogen from the soil as it rots down if buried, although it doesn't if laid on top as a mulch.

[Mr Bones]

What type of hedge was it Annie. Some (conifer, privet etc) contain biosupressant chemicals until they're composted.

[nickdub]

If you have soft fruit such as raspberries or logans where the plants are trying to swell fruit now I would use it under them - could also be mixed with grass mowings - water the ground before putting down a mulch if there has been little or no rain, as is the case in many areas now.

[ameno]

How finely shredded is it? Was it shredded into tiny (2-5mm) chips by a shredder with blades, or large (1-3cm) chips by a heavy-duty shredder which uses toothed rollers to crush the material?
If it's the former, personally I would compost it. Hedge prunings will have a good mix of leafy and woody material, and if kept moist should rot very quickly this time of year.
I shredded a largish bay tree back at the beginning of February, and it was fully composted by mid-May. I shredded a large quantity of cherry prunings in mid-April (it was already in full leaf), and it is already almost fully decomposed, just 7 weeks later.

I would prioritize places that are hard to weed such as under shrubs and the backs of borders, particularly around permanent plants. I don't think mulching on top of brick hard soil will help much unless the mulch is fairy soft, in which case worms might be able to pull it in and improve the soil. I'd also be reluctant to put compost on top of it as wood apparently takes nitrogen from the soil as it rots down if buried, although it doesn't if laid on top as a mulch.

Saying it "takes" nitrogen is a bit misleading. What it does is lock up nitrogen.
The bacteria and fungi need nitrogen to grow and reproduce, and therefore to rot the wood, but wood contains very little nitrogen, so they take what they can from nearby sources, such as the soil. However, that nitrogen does not disappear (it cannot disappear), it is simply contained within their bodies. And when decomposition is complete, the bacteria and fungi die and the nitrogen is released back into the soil.
So if you don't plant to really grow anything there for 6-12 months then there would be no problem even with digging it in. It will cause no long-term reduction in soil fertility, just short-term.

[annie8]

I don’t know how fine it is. He hasn’t dropped it off yet. I just know he was hiring a shredder with a hopper. Will maybe see what it looks like. Would happily compost it - never have enough compost. If now I reckon the rasps and some of the shrubs and the yew I’m trying to grow into a hedge.

[ameno]

If it's a hired shredder then it may well be the more heavy-duty kind with spiked rollers, which produce larger shreddings which take longer to rot, in which case it's best used as a mulch.
Have a look at it when it arrives, though, as it may be fine shreddings.