firstandgoal, Thanks for the info. That sounds reasonable to me. I hit a bit of the lawn last night before dark - hopefully it will rain today/tonight at get the rest wetted down enough, or I'll be back out there. And thanks for confirming that I got it down in time. I missed last year and was a little worried I was late for THIS year, as I saw some forsythia blooms around town.

Dave, I think they they may be overused and are useful in a limited set of circumstances. A row of conifer screening happens to be one of those uses. Yes, the fabric (and I was only recommending a geotexile type, not a roll of impervious black plastic) will degrade. By the time it degrades completely, the conifers will have grown large enough that their shade will start to cut down on weed germination. In my observation, they undoubtedly increase soil moisture retention and reduce the need for watering. And in their first couple years, they do keep weeds down, which is the most crucial period for reducing weed competition as the plants are getting established. Later on, the few weeds that start growing in the mulch are easy to rake or pull out. I've had some in my landscape now for 5 years, all the plants around it have grown just fine, I've never had to water them in the past 3 droughty summers, and I expect in 5 years it will probably mostly degrade but by then it will be filled in with mature plants and there will be less light for weeds to grow. One size does not fit all and the article you posted has some good points, but I stand by my recommendation. BTW Ken's recommendation to not make a screen of a single plant type is good too.

Tetraploidy generally results in a much wider margin, heavier substance, larger flowers, sometimes a smaller, more compact plant, and slower growth. For the most part, desireable characteristics. This is a relatively new thing in hostas, but we are going to see a lot more of it...we already are. Both Shady Oaks and Terra Nova are actively trying to create tets in the lab. Off the top of my head, these are some plants likely to be tets... Night Before Christmas Patriot Grand Tiara Liberty Touch of Class High Society Red Hot Flash First Mate Blue Mouse Ears Titanic Snowy Lake See the following link for actual techniques to convert to tets. Here is a link that might be useful: Tetraploidy Conversion

There are several products which will help. Eptam is available for home use and will prevent many annual grass and broadleaf seeds from growing. If already growing when applied, it will have no effect on the growing weeds, though. It also needs to be worked into the top inch or two of the soil as soon as it is applied. A day or two of direct sunlight will break it down to nothing. Any weeds growing prior to the emergence of the first spears in the spring can be sprayed with glyphosate. Products with 2,4-D will control broadleaves once they are growing if applied right after picking when there are no asparagus spears showing. 2,4-D will cause the asparagus to curl if you do get it on any growing spears, and while it doesn't kill it, it certainly holds it back for a while. There are also several herbicides available only for agricultural use that will provide good control of weeds in asparagus. If you get at it while they are small and the ground is moist, a light hoeing in the spaces between the crowns will also do an excellent job of weed control. I don't find hand weeding among the plants to be that bad when the ground has good moisture so the weeds will pull easily. Later season weeds don't usually get too far if you have several rows of plants as the ferns create a dense shade on the ground and choke the weeds out as long as they were controlled early and not allowed to establish until after the ferns have created dense shade. I generally prefer to make a herbicide application before the first spears emerge, then do some hand weeding while picking to remove dandelions and other perennials.