On Apr 4, 9:17*am, wrote:
On Apr 4, 9:34*am, "mr smith" wrote:





i have around my home, some shrubs, hedges and other
assorted plant life.

i think the previous owner had some "mulch" in the
areas where those plants were.

other areas have a lot of rocks, that, from one landscape
guy told me, he didn't lay down a fabric, so the rocks
just over the years sank into the dirt.

my question is, which is better ?

(a). to go with root mulch (not the wood type that
* * *termites love),

or

(b). rocks with a layer of anti-weed fabric underneath

i think the rocks are a better idea, because it "should"
help water run off during storms... right ? i mean at
least that's what i think rocks in a perimeter drain do.
(house does have a perimeter drain system by the way).

but i have no experience with this type of stuff and
am wondering what most people choose (and why).

There's no one answer that's right for everyone and every area. *Rock
isn't going to do anything as far as letting water run off. * The
water is just going to go right through the rock and then through the
landscape fabric, which is permeable.

Advantages to rock:
You may like the way it looks and it's available in wide variety of
types
Doesn't require periodic renewal
No termite issue

Disadvantages:
Over time, dust, debris, wind blown dirt, leaf debris, etc will
accumulate and some weeds will still manage to grow.
When you want to add/remove a plant, it's a pain because you have to
ty to pull back the rock, not get soil in it, etc
It's not good for plants, particularly in hot, full sun environment

Advantages to mulch
Retains moisture, better for plants
Easier to work with when adding/removing plants

Disadvantages:
Has to be renewed every few years.
Possible terminte issues

Personally, I've had both and tend to prefer mulch.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Oh, and forget to add with stones, some always manage to make it into
the lawn where they can be hit with a mower.