2

We have a front tree bed in the front of our house that has had the plastic under-layer destroyed by replanting trees over the course of a decade. Weeds keep growing in the environment causing a persistent problem for us.

What is the best approach to stop the weeds from growing here? We've already taken out a lot of the rocks that we added originally, should we try to cover the area with another plastic barrier? The problem with that is we already have trees planted there now, so how can we place a plastic barrier over the ground with the trees there already?

What is the most efficient way to go about resolving this?

Front Bed 0 Front Bed 1

Niall C.
  • 7,199
  • 11
  • 48
  • 77
Sarah Szabo
  • 123
  • 3

1 Answers1

3

You can put down weed blocker fabric. It lets water through but the pores in it are small enough to block weed roots. Use something like Roundup first to kill any existing weeds. Then lay the fabric, working around the bushes and trees.

You could cover it with rocks or synthetic mulch (something that doesn't biodegrade to create soil on top of the weed blocker). But weeds will grow on almost anything. Dirt dust gets blown into any ground cover. Leaves fall on it and biodegrade. Within a year or two, any decorative cover will turn into an hospitable environment for weeds. But there won't be much of a soil base to root in, so they're easier to remove.

Instead of rocks or mulch, you can leave the weed blocker bare and plant some form of fast growing ground cover through it. The ground cover plants will spread to hide the weed blocker. If you use an evergreen, there will be something there year around. That's the approach that's worked best for me.

fixer1234
  • 146
  • 2