Is it OK to lay black trash bags below mulch on flower bed?

we had asked the lawn firm we use to clean our flower bed which had weeds. They removed some weeds, tilled soil, laid black garbage bags (with space around plants), followed by mulch. To plant new plants, I was told to slit the bags where I needed to plant. Will this hurt the soil or existing/new plants - we have some rose bushes I do not want to damage and I am a novice gardener.

Is it OK to lay black trash bags below mulch on flower bed?
The trash bags were used to keep grass and weeds from growing in the beds, this doesn't work for long. The wind and birds will drop weed seeds in the mulch bed and then you will have the perfect environment, dark and moist, for the development of weeds again. It's better not to use any barriers and keep mulch around plants and over the entire bed. If weeds pop up, cover with more mulch to smother them or use Round Up Spray to kill them. You will hate your self years from now after using a barrier, they are horrible to remove and really aren't effective at keeping the weeds at bay.
Reply:No, use landscape fabric. It lets water through.


You can buy it by the roll in garden centers and the garden departments of most chain stores.
Reply:I would recommend using a weed fabric instead of a bag. this fabric prevents the weeds from coming in and helps a bunch. A lot better than the plastic. You do the same thing as you were talking about. Just cut a whole where you are going to plant you plant. here is a link below of the fabric i was speaking of.





Hope this helped! :)





BTW you can find this stuff cheaper at like walmart or something to.
Reply:I use black plastic bags under my stones,so nothing will grow through.I like the newspapers in my plant beds as they do break down and is a good way to re-cycle them.Just put down several layers,overlapping.Nothing will grow through them.I have started new beds with papers on the bottom of my new dirt.Then planted my flowers.Is very effective.There is a mold that grows under the papers also,but is beneficial to soil.





No,digging a planting hole won't harm either the soil or existing plants.
Reply:Okay, I have to rant--I HATE WEED MAT! I don't care what method you use, be it actual weed mat or plastic bags, none of it works. The problem is that, as one person said, the plastic bags hold in moisture and can cause a mold problem near the roots. Weed mat has small holes that will 'breathe', so that is a little better there. My pet peeve kicks in when you shovel your mulching material over the top of the weed mat---that stuff breaks down (as it should) and the weeds will grow ON TOP of the weed mat! What a waste of time and money! I have never, ever, EVER had a good experience with weed mat and I would never use it. As a professional, I would caution you against the investment. Leave the soil alone and just WEED it. Actually right now is the optimum time to apply pre-emergent, so do that and save yourself the hassle. Good luck! :-)
Reply:The problem with plastic is just that. You can get a mold that will grow between the mulch and the plastic. I'd use newspaper as it breaks down and won't hurt the environment. Good luck!
Reply:It is absolutely ok! The material that landscapers use is similar to black garbage bag material-- it just may be a little thicker. The garbage bags will not hurt your plants or the soil.
Reply:They shouldn't have used trash bags as the rain will not get through and you may end up with puddles and/or deseased plants from stagnant water laying around. Get rid of them or poke lots of holes though the bags before covering with mulch. You would be better off by spending a bit of money on proper weed suppressant fabric.Its woven and will let water through but will supress weeds.A cheap one will do the job. Cut a cross in the fabric where you would like to plant, then fold corners back in when planted.Cover with mulch.
Reply:They have told you the correct way to plant. Follow those directions and all will be OK.
Reply:hey--they were trying to get by cheap--they probably had gathered leaves in them--and dumped the leaves out some where---best to use news paper or fabric that is designed to let water in but not let weeds grow out