How to Plant Juniper With Landscape Fabric
Junipers often are used as ground cover or edging plants. They sometimes are used in areas as living mulch, too. However you decide to use juniper, you always want to discourage weeds from popping up in the midst of your plants. Landscape fabric is frequently used to block weeds and comes in plastic or cloth-like material. Both types are porous, which allows water and air to penetrate to the roots of your junipers and other plants while preventing most of the weeds from sprouting and taking hold. (No landscape fabric is 100 percent effective as a weed blocker). Planting your junipers with landscape fabric is easy and can save you a lot of backbreaking weeding later. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Prepare the site where you intend to plant your junipers. Dig up any grass and weeds. Amend the area with compost if necessary. Also, when choosing your site, consider that most varieties of junipers prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
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Dig holes where you want to plant your junipers.
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Cover the entire area with the landscape fabric. When laying down strips of fabric side-by-side or end-to-end, make sure to overlap the edges by 4 to 6 inches to keep weeds from finding their way through cracks. If your area is prone to such stubborn weeds as Bermuda grass and/or nut sedge, use two layers of landscape fabric.
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Cut an "X" in the fabric using either a knife or scissors over the planting holes that you dug earlier. You do not need to cut a hole out of the fabric to accommodate the junipers.
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Plant your junipers through the slits in the fabric and in the holes previously dug. Fill the holes with compost, but do not cover the fabric with soil.
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Apply at least 2 inches of decorative mulch over the landscaping fabric. Mulch will hide the landscape fabric. It will also add an additional layer of protection against weeds. Choose coarse-textured mulch, such as pine bark nuggets, for areas that tend to have very stubborn weeds. For a more arid-looking landscape, add decorative stones and pebbles. Make sure that the amount of mulch applied is at least 2 inches deep and not more than 4 inches.
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Tips & Warnings
Tightly-woven landscape fabric is less likely to have trees and shrubs attaching their roots to the fabric. Some weeds will poke through the fabric at some point. Just pull them up while they are still young and tender and before they take root along the top of the mulch.
Do not remove the landscape fabric unless absolutely necessary because you can damage plants that have attached their roots to the fabric. You should consider the landscape fabric to be a permanent fixture.
