I have never used cedar mulch, but I use pine bark mulch on every one of my
fruit trees, which number in the thousands. Where I live, the cold winters
(<-40F) and low amounts of precipitation (6"-8"), makes mulch necessary.
Add to the fact that I am organic, the weed suppression alleviates weeding
to a certain extent.
There are certainly drawbacks; voles like to nest around the plants and the
soil does not warm up as quickly in the spring. But, both those problems
can be controlled. For me I certainly will never go back to bare earth.
Dean Kreutzer
Regina, Saskatchewan Canada
USDA zone 3