Hedge fleece is another option that has some advantages. Depending on whether you have already planted a hedge or the plants are still in the bed, you can lay and prepare the protective film differently. How is fleece laid under the hedge?
Which variants are available to you?
- Weed fleece
There is the weed fleece, which must be renewed every season as it gradually decays naturally. However, it still offers very good protection against weed growth and is, for example, the better choice if you only want to protect the bed temporarily. In the case of hedges, for example, there are plant species under which hardly any weeds naturally grow and for which such a measure is unnecessary. However, this can be useful for the first few years when the plants are still young and small.
- Artificial soil fabric (geotextile)
It consists of threads that are woven together. This allows rain and irrigation water to easily penetrate through the film and into the ground, although not quite as well as with fleece, and air circulation is also maintained, preventing rot. This type of weed film lasts for many years as it is more resistant to the strong rays of the sun, but it also needs to be covered with mulch to protect it from the weather.
Here's how you canMake your own mulch.
A disadvantage can be that the cut edges fray over time due to their nature. In addition, sooner or later weed seeds will also be blown to the surface of the film, so the weeds will simply begin to grow over it and through the material.
The right thickness for fleece under the hedge
Depending on how badly an area is affected by weeds, the strength, i.e. the thickness of the fleece is selected (given in grams per square meter), although the permeability also worsens the thicker the material is. Weeds usually don't grow as much under hedge plants, so you can also use a thinner model as fleece under the hedge - 50 to 80 g/m².
How should you lay the hedge fleece?
Depending on whether the plants have already been planted or not, your approach will be a little different.
Lay weed control before planting
If you haven't planted your hedge yet, you can start laying the fleece:
- First, remove the weed plants that have already grown.
- For this purpose, you can also dig up and loosen the soil. This is not only an advantage for the new plants, as they grow more easily. It's also easier than picking or chopping each plant individually.
- Spread out the fleece. If you need several pieces to cover the entire area, make sure that the individual pieces overlap (approx. 15 cm should be enough).
- Mark the places where you want to plant the hedge plants. The distances can vary depending on the type of plant.
- Use a carpet knife or sharp scissors to cut round or square holes in the fleece.
- Plant your plants.
- If you don't like the look of the weed fleece (which we assume), you can now spread a layer of mulch. Bark mulch, for example, is well suited and also visually appealing and has additional advantages (cools in summer, warms in winter, stores moisture and also prevents weed growth). Gravel is also suitable. If you are using flooring fabric, this step is a must.
How to cut fleece under the hedge with existing plants
Your plants have been up for a long time, but you're fed up with the constant weeds and you want themfight effectively and avoid them in the future? Or do you simply have to replace the hedge fleece because the old one has decomposed? Nothing is easier than that, as you will see from the currant bushes in the example!
- This time place the hedge fleece along the plants.
- Wherever there is a plant, cut the fleece.
- You can measure the distance from the end of the bed to the plant trunk beforehand in order to make the incisions long enough straight away.
- Or you can cut them, push the garden fleece into position and extend the cuts as and when necessary until you can push the film to the back end.
- Here, too, you can finish with a layer of mulch or gravel (we remind you: mulch is definitely recommended with geotextile).
Tipp:If the width of the bed with the hedge makes it possible, you can also place two rows of fleece next to each other where the plants are and save yourself a lot of cutting.
Mulch for a better look and to protect the film
Conclusion: Is fleece useful under the hedge?
Fleeces have a number of advantages that benefit the growth of plants. The soil warms up faster, making them grow faster and better. Natural processes such as irrigation through rain or air circulation are hardly or not at all affected by the coverings, depending on the thickness of the material. However, since no light reaches the ground, weeds cannot grow or are severely restricted.
However, it can happen that one or two plants grow and have to be removed by hand, which in the long-standing variants happens due to seeds that have been blown under the hedge. The classic weed fleece must be renewed annually.
Alternative options include mulching and underplanting, although these do not prevent weed growth 100 percent.
