How to Kill Brush Under Pine Trees

Brush under pine trees makes them look messy and chaotic.

Gardeners and landscapers often favor pine trees as part of a landscape because they offer rich, green color year-round, give off pleasant aromas and offer shade when they get tall enough. However, pines with brush and stunted grass growing beneath them look ragged and unkempt. For a tidy, forested look, smother the brush and grass beneath the pine trees. This method of killing the brush won't harm your trees; in fact, they'll have plenty of nutrients and less food competition.

Things You'll Need

• Rake
• Newspaper
• Garden hose with sprayer
• Wood chip mulch
• Pine needles

Instructions

1. Rake up all of the pine needles under your pine trees. Place them in piles at the edges of the area for later use. A few pine needles left on the ground won't hurt anything.

2. Bend all of the brush or break it off at ground-level and toss it on the ground. The area should be as flat as possible.

3. Place up to 10 layers of newspaper over the area. Ask neighbors to raid their recycling bins or get friends and family to save papers for you. You'll need a lot.

4. Dampen the layers of newspaper with the sprayer on a garden hose. Wet the papers just enough so that they don't blow away or lift in the wind.

5. Cover the area with a 2-inch-thick layer of wood chips to help the moisture soak into the ground and encourage the newspaper to degrade, feeding your pines while killing the brush and grass through light deprivation.

6. Add a 2-inch layer of pine needles on top of the mulch, which eventually will feed the pines. In the meantime, it helps block light from the brush and gives the landscape a neat, put-together appearance.

References

• Gardening Know How: How to Kill Grass Naturally
• Less Lawn: Smother Your Lawn
• Blue Stem Nursery: Turf Bustin'
• Melinda Meyers: Pine Needles