One big benefit of eliminating cherry laurel trees here while containing the paper mulberries and my one giant Perennial Sunflower (Tithionia diversifolia aka "Giant Fuckin' Daisy") is letting the stalks die in the sun for a month or so then laying them down on beds and covering them with leaves, stall cleanings, and green "chop and drop" branches to build up a thick moisture-retaining mulch of humus formers in my front and back gardens.

Today I laid a loose, foot thick layer of branches over approx. a  6' X 2' area around the newly planted Everbearing Mulberry, then some tree mulch and white clay cat litter, then a slow deep watering. Tomorrow I'll mulch the whole area with green cassia alata branches and more horse stall sweepings and chipped tree mulch, water again.