Weed barrier under mulch or not?

thos

Hi all,
I've a stretch of new hedging along my driveway behind keeping, and it's been time consuming this year keeping it clear of weeds, so I'd like to get some heavy mulch in there to improve the look, and try to hold back the weeds. I seem to be reading conflicting advice about whether to use weed barrier or not. The not argument being about keeping the mulch damp with the soil and not drying out and blowing away. Any experience or further guidance?

Thanks,
Tom

looksee

I was a fan of weed barrier until it had been down for a while and I discovered the issues!

If you put down weed barrier you will find that the mulch does tend to blow away from it and leave it bare. Also if weeds do get under it - especially bindweed - it is much more difficult to get out, and if the barrier is disturbed it never seems to settle again.

On the other hand if you only put down mulch you will have to keep topping it up as it will rot into the soil (which is good) and weeds will grow through it - though possibly with less enthusiasm than if there were no mulch. Eventually a vigorous hedge, if kept clipped so that it grows low to the ground at the bottom, will generally create its own shade area that weeds will be less interested in.

The only place I would put barrier is under pebbles or gravel, and even then it needs to be a heavy duty barrier and a good depth of pebbles.

One suggestion would be to put down heavy barrier, well pegged down, without mulch and just accept the look of it until the hedge is big enough to look after itself.

thos

Forgot to say thanks for this.