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).



For mulch that you refer to first, if it isn't wood then, what? Bark? Bark
lasts much longer but is worthless and blows around too much. Shredded
(not chipped) cypress is my favorite because it holds moisture well and
stays in
place, even with leaf blowers. Thick enough, and fairly compacted, it keeps
weeds down very well and keeps the ground moist..

We have used both cypress and rock around our condo. I have had to clean
up the messes like you describe where folks used rock without landscape
cloth. We used river rock, med. size, with landscape cloth where nothing
else will grow, and placed pavers in it in places so my bare feet don't have
to tred on rock to go to the faucet.

If you keep it clear of debris, then it won't support weeds. I had a
few small
plants that were not hardy, so I put them in pots and put the pots into
the ground
surrounded by rock. When the weather got too cold, I just pulled the pots
to take them indoors and stuck them back in the hole when the freeze was
over with.

Allegedly, pine needles make good mulch but didn't work for us. We have
a lot
of hedges, so the cypress was easier and more effective for us. If you
have a lot
of trees, you might want to shred the leaves and use them for mulch ...
great for
azaleas, rhododendrons. If you have a lot of room to fill, you might
want to consider
non-invasive ground covers, like hosta.