Plantex needed with chip bark?

Gwynston

We have large-ish (75 sqm) area at the end of the garden with no lawn that we are trying to grow up with trees and shrubs. It will take a few years for these to be large enough to provide enough cover to keep the undergrowth building up. So we keep getting a jungle of weeds which needs cutting down and spraying, and we were planning to to cover it all with chip bark.

Do we need to put down Plantex too? Our landscaper is telling us we might be better without it. His opinions on Plantex:
- it's a lot of money to cover such an area
- we'll need more chip bark, as it won't stay in place so well
- with the number of trees etc. we'll have so many gaps, the Plantex won't do a very thorough job anyway as weeds will come through the gaps

However, the last point just seems to reiterate to me that weeds will come up without the Plantex, but he claims they will be few and easy to manage.

So we're none the wiser.....

Gwynston

No gardeners out there with an opinion on Plantex?

De_man

in my previous home i couldn't afford the plantex, i used a large roll of plastic
1000guage & punctured a few holes in it to allow the rain through, overall it
was successful even though i did on occasion have to top up the bark and
over a period of two years the sun "broke down" the plastic


another option is to put cardboard/heavy paper etc on the ground
then cover over with the bark mulch, this works fine but doesn't allow the
soil to breathe.

Taking the cost of the mulch into account and the labour to do the work
i'd just use grass clippings and it won't cost you a penny and you'll be very popular with your neighbours who want to "dump" their cuttings:)



a pint of plain is yer only man

Gwynston

It's not so much the cost of Plantex, but whether it is necessary to do the job properly of keeping back the weeds.

Interesting point on the grass clippings. I was wondering what to do with all ours! I tend to use a mulcher on the mower so I don't have to collect the clippings, but it would be nice to have somewhere to put clippings if I didn't want to put it all back in the lawn every time.

However, I'd be worried about grass clippings growing back if spread out too thin, or weed seeds contained within them. Can I be sure if I dump grass clippings at the end of the garden, it will not only act as a barrier to undergrowth, but will not actually promote growth on top also?

De_man

Gwynston wrote:

It's not so much the cost of Plantex, but whether it is necessary to do the job properly of keeping back the weeds.


The plantex will do the job fine, it's expensive and imho, one roll of plastic 35euro will do the same job once you puncture holes in it to allow rain water through and the soil to breathe, only thing, i did find mildew in places where the plastic was close to the plants

Interesting point on the grass clippings. I was wondering what to do with all ours! I tend to use a mulcher on the mower so I don't have to collect the clippings, but it would be nice to have somewhere to put clippings if I didn't want to put it all back in the lawn every time.

the clippings will work fine once you cover the area thoroughly
and will do a lot to improve the soil, only drawback its a bit unsightly when compared to the bark mulch

However, I'd be worried about grass clippings growing back if spread out too thin, or weed seeds contained within them. Can I be sure if I dump grass clippings at the end of the garden, it will not only act as a barrier to undergrowth, but will not actually promote growth on top also?

once you put 2" or so you'll have no problem if you are going to use the bark mulch use the smaller grade, the larger grade of bark mulch dries out very quickly and the wind can easily catch it and blow it all over the place it's only a temporary measure to allow your plants/trees to get established, personally, i'd use the grass cuttings its environmentally friendly, does the job, and allows the soil to breathe use the money saved on a holiday [/COLOR

hope this helps, really its a personal choice, the bark mulch does look well but it can work out quite expensive

Gwynston

Thanks for your thoughts.

So what do you think about the advice our gardener is giving us about Plantex (or anything else) not being entirely necessary? He is suggesting just the chip bark without any kind of sheeting. That will save a lot of money, but will we end up with lots of weeds?

De_man

imho don't bother with the plantex, buy 1 roll of 1000 guage plastic
cost you about 35euro that should just about cover your required area.

roll out the roll, put down plenty blocks or stones to hold it down in place
cut holes, plant trees clean area, fold back plastic around trees, cover
with plenty of bark mulch, puncture plastic with garden fork a regular
distances or where "ponding" may occur, no more problems, once you make sure the plastic is held down. personally i wouldn't just put bark mulch down on the ground on its own, the plantex will cost you a fortune to cover that area, use the plastic, it shouldn't "breakdown" due to the sun once it's covered with the bark

Enjoy:)

P.S i forgot, make sure you get either the grey or black plastic, it's available in any builders
merchants

Gwynston

I'm not comfortable with the idea of plastic. We do have a problem with drainage at that end of the garden, so I don't think plastic would be suitable, even with LOTS of holes.

The cost of the Plantex isn't so much the issue, we've got the money saved. It is more a question of whether going with chip bark alone would be a bad idea or not from the POV of weeds.

prospect

Gwynston wrote:

I'm not comfortable with the idea of plastic. We do have a problem with drainage at that end of the garden, so I don't think plastic would be suitable, even with LOTS of holes.

The cost of the Plantex isn't so much the issue, we've got the money saved. It is more a question of whether going with chip bark alone would be a bad idea or not from the POV of weeds.

I did a large area and covered it with about 3 sheets thick of old newspaper.

Just soak the paper and lay it ll out. You can easily shape it an daccommodate your trees and shrubs.

It lets the rain through, but not the weeds. Also, unde rthe mulch, it will break down in time, and by then, hopefully your trees will be big enough to prevent the undergrowth from catching.

Another option is to spray the area with a mix of round-up and simazine (sp?). One kills the growth on contact, and the other prevents new growth for a season. The only downside is you cant walk in the area or it will break the effect of the simazine.

Gareth Austin

Hi there,

bark chippings used on their on will work, apply as a mulch around 3" thick and then re-apply a 1" layer every year. (you'll lose about an inch due to decomposition). Some very invasive weeds such as Elder, Gorse etc can still grow up through but largely you will control most garden weeds with this thick layer.

Plantex in partnership with Bark can be useful as
1. It prevents the interaction between bark and soil so the bark lasts longer
2. It prevents those aforementioned weeds.

You will be able to buy a roll of 60g/m2 fabric for around €130 (2m x 100m)

Avoid the newspaper - its just rots down. Avoid carpet - it just rots down. Avoid the plastic with the holes punctured in it as the weeds just grow up through. Plastic also can prevent the rainfall passing to your plants roots and will interfere with the gaseous exchanges with your plant roots so is best avoided.


Plantex is very good and very effective.

Hope this helps.

Gwynston

Gareth, thanks for the detail!

I definitely think trhe Plantex will be worth the outlay.

Cheers, Gwyn.

prospect

Gareth Austin wrote:

Avoid the newspaper - its just rots down.

that is the very idea behind using it....