I finally planted one of the tea bushes today. I put a little skirt of landscaping carpet around it, then mulched over it.
Here's a picture of it with the landscaping fabric around it:
(Don't worry - I did cover the fabric with mulch!)
I also made little skirts for the lilac and the crape myrtle. While ripping weeds away from the crape myrtle, I used the watering can to hold down the sheet of landscaping fabric. When I moved the can, I noticed that drops of water were beaded up on the fabric. Uh, I was under the impression that water would go through the fabric.
So I dug the instructions out of the trash and read them. The instructions assured me that the fabric is permeable to "air, nutrients, and water." It also showed someone putting the fabric down with the lighter side up. Well, I had just put the fabric dark side up around two shrubs and covered it with mulch. I'm not going to re-do them. I did flip the fabric around for the crape myrtle. I'll just see what happens.
Here's a picture of it with the landscaping fabric around it:
(Don't worry - I did cover the fabric with mulch!)
I also made little skirts for the lilac and the crape myrtle. While ripping weeds away from the crape myrtle, I used the watering can to hold down the sheet of landscaping fabric. When I moved the can, I noticed that drops of water were beaded up on the fabric. Uh, I was under the impression that water would go through the fabric.
So I dug the instructions out of the trash and read them. The instructions assured me that the fabric is permeable to "air, nutrients, and water." It also showed someone putting the fabric down with the lighter side up. Well, I had just put the fabric dark side up around two shrubs and covered it with mulch. I'm not going to re-do them. I did flip the fabric around for the crape myrtle. I'll just see what happens.
