Another point, the finer the mulch, the quicker it breaks down into and improves the soil! I once had a place that had triple ground hardwood mulch, and it was amazing! Can’t find it anymoreI have always used hardwood mulch. Just a preference, I like what it does to the clay soil as it breaks down. Cedar and pine , would definitely raise the acidity of the soils over time, but probably take years to notice any changes and most of the SE soils are already fairly acidic. If you needed more acidic soil, like you wanted to grow blueberries, which like a ph of 5.5 or lower, or want your mop head hydrangeas to be bluer, you could use the acidic mulches around them.