planting for weed control

By planting the correct native grasses with the right spacing, your garden or landscape plantings will out compete most weeds.

Appropriate plant selection is essential to ensure long-term success of your project.  Grasses (such as Poa and Themeda) and grass like plants (such as Lomandra and Dianella) must be vigorous enough to outgrow their weed competitors.  Generally speaking, larger plants have a greater chance of providing weed control for the long term as smaller forms tend to be less vigorous.

Planting the right plants at the correct density is the only way to out compete weeds.  Where no maintenance will be possible, plants should be spaced closer together and this will result in a mass planted aesthetic.  Lower planting rates can be applied when maintenance will be undertaken and specimen plants can be more easily discerned.

It is easy to imagine that if a plant (60cm tall by 50cm wide) is planted at a rate of 1 per square metre, the area will quickly become invaded by weeds.  If that same plant is planted at 6 plants per square metre, it will shade out and out compete weeds.

Here are some examples of planting densities for weed control:

Provincial can provide practical and experienced advice relating to plant selection and planting densities that are right for your site and project.