We and our advertising partners use cookies on this site. Please see our Terms of Use for further details.

Garden.Help Logo Graphic

About Us | Terms of Use

Diagnose plant problems and treat garden pests

Gardening News

General Help

Specialists

Have a go...

Win and Save

Interactive Tools

Plant Doctor


More...

Home / Projects /

How to plant through weed-suppressing membrane


Difficulty: 2 / 5

You will need: Weed-suppressing membrane, knife, trowel, mulch

If you want to make your garden less work, then one place to start is by using weed-suppressing membrane over the borders. This fabric is porous, so water can pass down through it to plant roots, but is dense enough to stop weeds growing up.

Best time to do it:

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Step One:

Ideally, this is best laid over a bare border before you start planting. Overlap the edges if you use more than one strip.

Step 1 of How to plant through weed-suppressing membrane

Step Two:

Cut an X with a sharp knife where you want to plant and peel back the flaps to dig the planting hole.

Step 2 of How to plant through weed-suppressing membrane

Step Three:

Position the plant and fill in the hole, firming the plant into place. Fold the flaps of fabric back over the soil around the plant.

Step 3 of How to plant through weed-suppressing membrane

Step Four:

Disguise the fabric (and help it last longer) with a deep layer of mulch, like bark or gravel. This also helps reduce moisture loss in summer. Leave a small saucer-shaped depression immediately around the plant stem so it cannot be damaged.

Step 4 of How to plant through weed-suppressing membrane

Related FAQs


Ask a gardening question:


Looking for more garden ideas for this month? Try another project or watch a gardening video for some more inspiration.

Latest Gardening News



Gardening Projects for June


Learn about How to make a Herb Planter
Learn about  How to repair a lawn - Patches
How to make a Herb Planter

Difficulty: 1 / 5

How to repair a lawn - Patches

Difficulty: 2 / 5

Learn about How to: New orchids from old
Learn about How to Care for Early-Flowering Clematis

Gardening Ideas


Plant Specialists

Diagnose orchid plant problems and improve orchid care
Orchid Doctor
Diagnose fruit plant pests and fruit plant problems
Soft Fruit Doctor
Do a soil test to find out your soil type
Soil Doctor
Diagnose pest and disease problems with fruit trees and bushes.
Top Fruit Doctor


Gardening Tools

Learn which plant pests attack which types of fruit.
Fruit Pests
Learn when and how to prune different types of plants
Pruning Guide
Learn which plants will grow in your soil
Soil pH Guide
Learn when and how to plant different vegetable seeds
Vegetable Planting Guide