A pleasing landscape design for your property may have you seeking the best products to maintain its appearance. Whether you choose a pesticide or landscape fabric to reduce weed and grass growth, the goal is to produce a continuous picturesque appearance. First, however, homeowners should understand the purpose of landscape fabric and proper removal techniques to maximize the benefits without injuring plant life. Therefore, our expert landscapers in the Tri-Cities area at Promier Landscapes share the best way to remove landscape fabric so that you can replace it as desired.
What is landscape fabric?
Landscape fabric is a geotextile used to prevent weed growth in flower beds, river rock groundcovers, and around trees. The material composition is typically polyester, linen, polypropylene, or other recycled materials. Our Kingsport landscaping pros share additional benefits landscape fabric can provide when used on your property.
- Controls erosion
- Stabilizes soil temperature
- Reduces chemical herbicide use
- Retains soil moisture by reducing evaporation
- It prevents rock mulches from sinking into the soil
However, landscape fabric can cause damage to your soil’s nutrient content, expose petroleum and other chemicals to your property, and reduce earthworm presence.
Why should you remove landscape fabric?
New property owners may believe removing landscape fabric is unnecessary, providing a beneficial weed barrier for years. However, its benefits start to dwindle after one or two years. Our Tri-Cities landscaping pros share below some common reasons gardeners choose to remove landscape fabric that could harm your plant’s health.
- Removing and replacing the fabric every one to two years can be a burden.
- As fabric benefits decline, it may clog with debris and prevent air and water from reaching plant roots.
- Using landscaping fabric is not a 100% guarantee for no weed growth. Your property is prone to receive weed seeds from neighboring gardens and lawns that accumulate and root.
- Sprouting weeds on top of landscaping fabric are challenging to remove because their roots intertwine with the material.
- Plant roots may also grow into the fabric, resulting in difficult removal.
- Landscape fabric damages soil fertility.
- Landscape fabric drives out microbes, earthworms, and other beneficial insects that maintain soil health.
- Exposed material can ruin your landscape aesthetic.
- Garden fabrics or inorganic mulch provide no nutritional value to soil.
- Landscape cloth can prevent organic matter from reaching the soil.
For more information, please check out our previous blog on why landscaping fabric is a bad idea.
How to remove landscape fabric
In some cases, removing the fabric can be easy, especially if it’s in poor condition. But, in more complex situations where plant roots grew into the material, removal can be time-consuming or require a Johnson City landscape professional. To begin the project, gather a garden rake, trash bag, sharp utility knife or scissors, and a shovel or garden hoe. Then, follow the below directions to remove the landscape fabric.
- Step 1 – Determine where you have landscape fabric. Most material is discoverable around trees or within a flowerbed.
- Step 2 – Pick a small mulch area to uncover the underlying fabric. When the mulch reveals a soil layer, remove it with a garden hoe or shovel.
- Step 3 – Use your utility knife to cut the exposed material. Then, shake off soil and debris for easier disposal and place the material in a trash bag.
- Step 4 – Continue working in small sections, making sure to repeat the same procedures above to remove the material.
- Step 5 – Exercise caution around plants and bushes. Roots infused with the fabric can be gently cut away where they entangle with the material.
- Step 6 – After removing landscaping fabric from the flower beds and trees on your property, it’s time for proper disposal.
Landscaping in Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol, Tennessee
Maintaining a picturesque landscape requires hard work and dedication. Although landscape fabric can provide a stunning aesthetic for a few years, it also requires additional work to remove and replace it. However, following the above steps provided by our Kingsport expert landscaping pros, the job should be much easier. If you struggle with landscape fabric removal and need professional assistance, feel free to call Promier Landscapes at (423) 872-2988 or contact us online today.