Oak bark mulch

[Wi-sunflower]

After reading something in a SWC thread, I thought I would see if I could find some finly shreaded pine bark mulch to add to my potting mix for bigger pots ( like 2-3 gal size) in part because my peat - perlite - vermiculite source has raised prices and those big pots really eat up the mix fast.

After searching on the internet for something in Wisconsin, I realized that the piles of stuff the landscapers have might be OK. So I went to a place not very far from me. that has pile of lots of stuff.

Unfortunately the pine bark was fairly large shred.

They have several other things tho like a couple of cedars and Oak bark mulch.

The Oak Bark was the finest shred of all of them. But Hubby is concerned that the Oak might be detrimental to the plants. Does anyone know if the Oak Bark would be OK or not.

Another option would be hardwood sawdust from a pallet factory nearby. But I don't know what kind of wood that would be.

I know both would tie up nitrogen but i think I could compensate with fertilizer.

Any thoughts on either ??

Thanks,
Carol