Can you ‘retrofit’ a weed control cover around existing plants?

Addle

Can you ‘retrofit’ a weed control cover around existing plants?
Or do you have to start from scratch?
Is it too difficult to get the measurements right?
Thanks.

greasepalm

It might depend on what plants and if wide apart or single stemmed.

There used to be collars you could put around the stem in keeping an area weed free.

Starting from scratch usually means clean bed with a weed sheet and slits to put plants through.

What about a deep layer in wood chips.

looksee

I tried it once and it really was not successful. Since then I have tried doing new beds and planting in holes cut in the membrane. In the long run that was not successful either. Weed membrane in garden beds creates as many issues as it solves. You don't get the mad growth of annual weeds, granted, but it does not solve the weed problem completely.

You will get scutch grass and bindweed continuing to grow mats of roots under the membrane till they find the little hole where you have planted, or the edges of the bed, or joins in the fabric, and poke up through them. This makes them impossible to remove completely without taking up the membrane. And the ones that come up through planting holes absolutely infest the plant. Every time you try to weed out the ones that do surface you disturb the membrane and make it easier for more to come up.

The mulch on top of the membrane gathers into dips and hollows, leaving bald patches and making your bed look like supermarket carpark gardening.

The Continental Op

You can make collars out of the cheapest grade of roofing felt. Used to be a produce called a Tree Spat (the new ones are very different) that was made of roofing felt. They worked really well around the base of trees and shrubs.

Addle

Thanks for the replies.

The area isn’t level, so it isn’t easy to cover.
Some ‘mature ‘ plants that I wouldn’t want to lose.

I googled ‘collar’ but I need to look after a big enough area.

The Continental Op

The point is if you put collars around the plants then its a lot easier to roll out and fit whatever you are using for weed suppression between in the areas that are left.

Addle

The Continental Op wrote: »

The point is if you put collars around the plants then its a lot easier to roll out and fit whatever you are using for weed suppression between in the areas that are left.

Thanks. I am so ignorant about these things.

phormium

I got old plastic pots and cut the bottom out of them and slit up the side, put that upside down around the plant and protects the stem assuming it's a smallish plant. I prefer old carpet to weed membrane and have fitted it after planting the plants, can be done in strips once you overlap properly. That works with carpet though because it's heavy, wouldn't really work with the barrier unless you tack it down ureally well with those metal U shaped things.