Fabric weed barriers

[GMann]

Do fabric weed barriers installed under landscaped areas have any negative impact on the roots growing underneath them?

I would imagine that water flows right through them without any issue? What about fertilizer?

I have just bought a house that has lots of rocky areas with fabric weed barriers underneath them and when I pulled out a couple of unhealthy trees I noticed that they had very under developed roots. Could this have been a result of the fabric weed barriers?

I want to plant some new palms in these areas and was thinking of just cutting small holes in the fabric where I will dig the holes and leave most of the weed barrier intact. Will this be ok?

[Chris Chance]

They really don't have any negative impact but I find them to be a headache. They always seem to become visible in areas unless the rock or mulch is super thick. Also if you like to mulch like I do it actually keeps a lot of nutrients from entering the soil.  

Eventually the fabric will start to break down and become useless. Also weeds just grow above them anyway so in my opinion I would never install them because they cost a lot and are only effective for so long. If you already have them and want to cut holes in them for plants that should be fine. 

[kinzyjr]

I've used them in all of my gardens.  They are effective for a while, but some weeds can punch holes through them (one type of grass for sure).  I mulch my beds > 3 inches.  It has its pros and cons.  I don't think that it would affect the roots of your plants negatively.  If it did, I'd have a bunch of very unhealthy plants.

As Chris mentioned, after a while, it will break down to the point where everything will grow through it and some weeds are more than happy to grow on top of it.  Cutting holes in the fabric that is already there is fine.

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 9/18/2018 at 7:15 PM, Chris Chance said:

They really don't have any negative impact but I find them to be a headache. They always seem to become visible in areas unless the rock or mulch is super thick. Also if you like to mulch like I do it actually keeps a lot of nutrients from entering the soil.  

Eventually the fabric will start to break down and become useless. Also weeds just grow above them anyway so in my opinion I would never install them because they cost a lot and are only effective for so long. If you already have them and want to cut holes in them for plants that should be fine. 

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^^ Agree with Chris, Its the main reason i didn't use such a barrier when i re-landscaped the front yard here. That being said, a quality weed block will allow water / nutrients through it, but also doesn't mean you'll keep out the weeds, especially aggressive stuff like Bermuda, or Nut sedge that can (will) push up through holes in the fabric. A neighboring yard demonstrates well how ugly things can look when the fabric starts breaking down, and the mulch / rock layer on top isn't deep enough to keep it from working its way to the surface. The neighborhood feral cat herd doesn't help the situation either. 

When i did this yard, i put down a pretty deep layer of rock that, for the most part, keeps out most of the weeds. Its only on the mounds where i couldn't get the rock layer deep enough, or didn't turn over the existing soil enough that i still have problems w/ Bermuda and other summer weeds, most of which still come out easily.. Even better, when we have had decent rain, all the runoff soaks in quickly. 

If i were to use fabric in another project, i'd only use it where i were planning on topping it with larger river cobble at least 4" deep, similar to a curbside job i did for a neighbor back in San Jose years ago. Everything i planted still looks good and the larger, heavier stone should keep the weed mat from being disturbed. 

Personally, unless i'm planning out a food forest, i prefer stone / gravel over mulch.. Won't break down and is less likely to get washed away.  I have better things to spend money on..

[Palmaceae]

I hate fabric weed barriers, when I moved to our new house and started the new garden the previous people put down weed barrier and there were weeds everywhere on top of the barrier, plus I hate digging new holes with that mat being down.

[Manalto]

It might not do any harm, but it sure ain't pretty. Along with flexible black edging, it winds up being more work instead of less because it doesn't stay put and then becomes an obstacle to what you want to accomplish.

[Hillizard]

I've found weeds aren't the only issue. I used barrier cloth on a berm and discovered recently that an Hesperaloe ('false yucca') I'd planted there among the palms had offsets growing for a foot underneath the fabric and causing it to lump up! I had to cut a hole to 'liberate' them. So it's not the best solution if what you plant produces multiple stems and expands over time. 

[kinzyjr]

  On 9/18/2018 at 8:59 PM, Hillizard said:

I've found weeds aren't the only issue. I used barrier cloth on a berm and discovered recently that an Hesperaloe ('false yucca') I'd planted there among the palms had offsets growing for a foot underneath the fabric and causing it to lump up! I had to cut a hole to 'liberate' them. So it's not the best solution if what you plant produces multiple stems and expands over time. 

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Definitely true... bananas are another example.

[Darold Petty]

I don't have first hand knowledge but I did hear once that the fabric has a negative effect on worms when they want to go up to the surface.