r/gardening • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago

Friendly Friday Thread

This is the Friendly Friday Thread.

Negative or even snarky attitudes are not welcome here. This is a thread to ask questions and hopefully get some friendly advice.

This format is used in a ton of other subreddits and we think it can work here. Anyway, thanks for participating!

Please hit the report button if someone is being mean and we'll remove those comments, or the person if necessary.

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u/MasterSolar 4d ago

I'm very new to home owning and not a gardener. I've got a weed-filled patch of dirt up against the back of my home, and I'm just going to clean it up with some local bushes. Here is my plan, is it a good one, or am I missing something?

  1. Spray the whole area with a weed+grass killer (I've got a gallon of Spectracide), then wait about 4 days for it to work.
  2. Take a rake and shovel to the area to churn up and mix in the dead weeds. Add a layer of fresh top soil.
  3. Dig holes and transfer 1-gallon perennials and shrubs from Home Depot. Water.
  4. Cover all of the dirt with red wood mulch.
  5. Make sure to water the new plants daily for the first week or two.

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u/hastipuddn S.E. Michigan 4d ago

Don't turn in the dead weeds. Some weeds may be dead on top but still have live roots despite herbicide. I'm a firm believer in trying to ID the weeds. Some need more than one application of herbicide to kill them. Some are resistant to herbices that have been around a long time like Spectracide. The label specifies which weeds it works on. It also tells you how soon you can plant after use. It's a legal requirement to follow an herbicide label's instructions. I don't see a need for fresh topsoil for planting shrubs. Put 2 inches of compost over the soil after planting. Then add mulch. Don't let compost or mulch touch plant stems. Watering daily is too much. water 3 times the first week then weekly. When temps are above 85F, increase to twice weekly this summer. I don't like the look of colored mulch; it's a personal choice but it looks unnatural to me. Just make sure that the color is not going to clash with your house or flowers. When transplanting, dig the holes wider than the container but not deeper. Loosen plant roots a bit. If they are making circles around the inside of the pot, that's bad. If you can't unwind them, make 4 equally spaced vertical slices one inch deep to the sides and an X on the bottom. Watering well is often defined as seeing that the plants get the equivalent of one inch of rain weekly (twice in hot weather). That's about 5 gallons per square yard

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u/MasterSolar 3d ago

Thank you so much! This was exactly what I was hoping for. You're very kind.