Weeds in groundcover between flagstone

Question

I love my flagstone. It goes all the way around my house. I have bad soil and it is a good alternative to muddy grass. The problem I have is I planted Scotch moss and creeping thyme between the stones and it looks great but the weeds are a nightmare. It takes forever to pull the weeds without destroying my groundcover. It takes two days once a month to keep it under control. HELP!

Answer 1

The best way to keep the weeds down is to keep the scotch moss and creeping thyme extra healthy. They can then crowd the weeds out themselves.

But, to your current problem. I am willing to bet with the weeds and flagstone, it is difficult for you to get the roots of the weeds out and that is why they come back so fast. So the next time you weed, try this. Pull the weed as best you can. Any root crown that is not able to be pulled from the ground, use a small paintbrush to paint concentrated Round up on it. Be very careful because if it gets on your desirable plants, it will kill it. The Round up will be drawn into the weed’s root system and will kill the roots. Then treat the area with a pre-emergent like Preen. Preen will prevent new weeds from growing from seed but will not hurt the desirable plants.

Once this is done, make sure to water and fertilize your desirable plants regularly. The healthier they are, the harder it will be for weeds to grow among them.