When I had this problem I tried to weed, weed, weed it out but eventually I realized it needed to be dug up. The grass is bad enough but we had violets and creeping charley too. All invasive and all of them almost impossible to get out by weeding. We dug out all the roses and potted them up in what ever containers we could find and then dug the whole bed out, raised it and put fresh top soil in. Then we replanted the roses. They're much happier now.

It seems overwhelming but you can get this under control(been there many a time)! First off, you are tackling this at the worst time of year,when all those weeds are established and taking over! Not sure how you feel about Preen, but I love the stuff! As a pre-emergence in the spring you can't beat it for getting a handle on an overgrown weed patch. What the preen doesn't take care of, my best friend the "hoe" does.

If you start off with what's left of this growing season by doing some hoeing and pulling (of what remains of that nasty creeping charlie) and start early next spring, you'll be amazed how well those beds look without digging up or redoing anything. Best of luck!

I'm not sure about your situation, but when weeding, you need to make sure you are pulling the weeds out by the roots. If it has been hot and you've had little or no rain, you will need to water the bed first. Then get right in there and start pulling weeks. In moistened soil, they will pull out quite easily.

If you occasionally run into a stubborn one that doesn't want to move, get your garden fork and dig around that plant, pushing the blades down at least several inches deep-then life a bit. That should loosen the soil enough that you can now pull out the stubborn weed with minimal effort.

Once all the weeds are pulled out, immediately put down about 2-3 inches of mulch. I buy bags of pine bark mulch from Wal-mart. The mulch will keep new weeds from germinating and help retain some moisture in the soil.

Good luck. That is what I have been doing for the past week.

Kate

Yes, Kate, and that is exactly what I am earnestly telling myself to do also. I may even actually do some of that regime, especially since I have a well decent amount of compost right now (have been composting like a freaking maniac all year). Psychologically, that careful. persistent weed-pulling makes you get close to the soil - very therapeutic, then a nice clean mulch is so utterly satisfying. And, to really go the whole campaign, make sure the edge of the bed is neat - a half-moon edger on grass is practically a full face-lift. diet and new frock.

My method has always been newspaper topped off with mulch. When I made my new flower bed, I weed wacked anything that I didn't want there, put down newspaper (about 5 sheets thick and soaking wet to prevent it from blowing away). I then covered the newspaper with about 4 inches of mulch. Sometimes I find a few weeds creeping through but I just yank them out and that does the trick:)

Maude

Oh gosh..here's a few tips..I don't know if you are in a drought area of the country? If not get your garden muddy and wet. Put on old clothes and pull away. My very BEST
garden friend is PREEN. I didn't use much last year as I was busier than I am this year and it makes a HUGE difference. Preen keeps new weeds from germinating..won't help right now..Okay..I have another tip. Get a bottle of foam Round Up. Round Up is a contact weed killer..the foam is less to spread. If you are careful to only get the weed and not allow any breeze to get the spray on the roses it can be very effective if you don't have alot of time. I used to take a bottle of that and walk around my garden for 10 minutes each day and spray weeds. I would not be afraid to get a little agressive with this. After you get it all cleaned up it is so much easier to maintain..but getting it to maintain is the big part. Get a radio out next to you get some good tunes going and get goin!

I've found that any newly created bed takes a couple of years to look decent. During the first two seasons of gardening an area that used to be lawn, the lawn isn't quite yet convinced that I don't want it to grow in that spot anymore.

My tools of the trade are a dandelion digger with a squooshy rubber grib, a 5 gallon pail, a small stool, and some water for moistening the ground. Most things come up easily, but those dang Charley vines, oxalis, and wild strawberry are truly hemorrhoids. It kills my knees to bend over & pull, so I sit on a stool and scoot along. Pulled stuff goes in the bucket.

Black plastic and rock mulches didn't prevent the weeds from coming up, and it did a real number on what I WANTED to grow as the soil became compacted and impossible to work. A good mulch is easily pulled away from the base of your plants so that you can weed & feed at will, and it should be 'breathable' so that it doesn't choke off your plants. You'll be amazed at how much easier it is to pull out dandelions when you can simply brush back the top 3 inches of what they've sprouted through; rip it out, fluff the mulch back into place, and onto the next offender.

Oh yes; don't forget the sunscreen.

Landscape fabric and/or rock is no way to control weeds. Weeds simply grow on top of fabric and through rocks--then you have to move the rocks to weed. Plastic: clear plastic over areas but away from rose roots can kill off some of the weeds, but mind the roses. The plastic also kills off beneficial soil microbes, so replenish with compost.

Start weeding BEFORE the weeds start going to seed, when they are small. Cover with a layer of cardboard and mulch over that. Be persistent. Try horticultural strength vinegar on the SMALL SEEDLING weeds before they get too big. One round of weeding isn't going to do it, and if you let weeds reseed, you are wasting your time. Keep at it and keep at it and it will happen.

I've used landscape cloth and mulch before too and it only keeps the weeds out the first season it's down. By the second year the weeds either start to poke through or they start to grow in the soil that has accumulated on top of it as the mulch breaks down. And it's a total mess to get out then. Never a gain!

I don't use mulch anymore. I've tried stones, the packaged ground pallet mulch, pine bark findings, leaves and grass clippings, just about every kind you can think of, and they're always a mess for me. They wash out all over on me and I watch my money float away down the gutter into the sewer. Besides, I garden bare foot and none of them are easy to walk on, lol!

In these cases I spray weeds and grass with Roundup. Obviously I take precautions to make sure I don't get it on plants I want to keep. Problem solved.

Slightly off topic, but has anyone used cardboard under bark for walk ways in the garden? Does the bark slip on the cardboard?

Humm I had not heard of the cardboard trick. But I have used weed fabric and my opinion is that it is horrible. It chokes the good roots as well. AND the weeds grew right up through it.PREEN and ROUNDUP

Yep, Kippy. If ever there was a place for landscape fabric, it must be permanent pathways. You will need a timber or some other edging to keep whatever mulch in place - I often use treated timber, 3inchx1inch x 10feet lengths, held in place with wooden stakes. You could also use cardboard underneath the bark or gravel or even seashells or slate chips, but the retaining edging is the key to holding it all together.

Thanks Camp, I have some palm fiber I want to use for a walkway in between the raised beds, so edging is already in place. Just was wondering if the cardboard is more slippery than using weed block.

Hand digging is effective, but it will take some time. The arugula field in my rose bed will need digging up. Once done, then I will apply, Preen, composted manure, newspaper, hardwood mulch. Usually does the trick for a couple of years if I am not diligent with the weeding. Good luck.

I started out with bermuda and morning glory infested beds. I was so discouraged. I would say #1 don't injure the rose stems when using a sharp metal tool such as a hoe. The canker can get in where the rose got hurt and then your rose will just die eventually. The cardboard and heavy mulch works well. Keep raking back the mulch and slicing off the weeds as the season goes on. The growth gets weaker and weaker. After a few times, the weeds start to die off because there is no top growth to support the roots. If you can't get around the base of the roses, just cut that low and keep the cardboard in place. When the roses get cut back at the seasons end, then go after the roots under the roses.
Digging up the roses in winter is a good strategy if weed roots are all through the rose roots and you cannot stop them any other way but I would not do that unless everything else failed.

One good aspect of the cardboard/mulch idea is that all season it is breaking down improving the top layers of soil and making the weeds easier and easier to pull. I add some sand too to make weed pulling even easier. I started with clay and man even a little teeny weed wouldn't budge. Don't feel defeated. I have done some nasty damage to my plants with weed killers and the stinkin' weeds came back anyhow. Better to spend your money on mulch and sand which will make your roses happy and as the soil improves the weeding goes easier and faster.

I have a bad back and knees so bending or kneeling is out of the question--- I've found that using roofing shingles on weeds works the best, and never ever use Round Up anywhere near the roses, Round-Up will kill the roses...I get bundles of shingles at HD and drop them on a weed, they are heavy and don't blow away and they suffocate weeds in abt. 2 weeks, and can be moved around where needed, they last for years...and being dark they blend-in--- when I decided to take out part of the front-yard for a new rose-bed, I put down shingles on the area and left them for a month, it killed the grass and the bed has no problem w/weeds or grass...sally

I use the cardboard/mulch idea, and it has surely helped with the weeds, but hasn't completely eradicated them, of course. A few years ago I invested in a hori-hori (Japanese for diggy-diggy), and don't go in the yard without it! A few weeks ago I loaned it to my son's landscape crew to try; they loved it, said they were going to ask the boss to get them each one.

A year ago, we moved into a house with lovely large granite gravel all over the darned place. I had a serious number of pots to get into the ground and the dirt under the rocks was rock hard. I laid down opened up moving boxes directly on the dirt, and soaked them. I then got potting soil (cheapo stuff from HD), planted whatever (bulbs galore) and bearded iris and a Cl Cecile Brunner. Layer small redwood bark over all. The Cecile Brunner is now sending up canes past the eve of the house (it used to be in a wine barrel), the bulbs were beautiful... Something started digging out bulbs a month or so ago, so I girded my loins and went and dug them all out before whatever it was at them, and the cardboard was all gone, the potting soil has blended in with the dirt, and the redwood bark is going fast. Soil was easy to dig (which is good, because I have to dig out the lilies as soon as they die back - they're in a Very Bad location). Thickness of potting soil and bark over the cardboard varied from 3" to 6", and it's beautiful this summer.

I also put out some huge cardboard boxes in the back yard to try to keep down the weed crop, and it did it beautifully! It looks hideous, but I'll keep using it as I gradually improve my yard on my 'no budget'...

I have used Round up..and especially Foam Round up around other plants with no problem..but you need to make sure there is no wind.

If you want to work smarter, not harder on an out of control bed, there's no better way to go than with the lasagna method above (google lasagna bedding or some such and you'll see). Honestly, just cut the most of the weeds down, I'd only really weed around the roses to the drip line. Lay out *several* layers of newspaper (5-6 minimum) and or cardboard. Wet. Cover with mulch, or for free you can get tree chippings at the local city yard (your mileage may vary on the last). Honestly, it will keep you good for a year, then do it again. Fall is a great time to do it. Just take care not to get too close to the trunks of the roses with the newspaper so they don't hold water around the crown. You may get some weeds there, just put down some Preen (I only use the organic one, we have dogs - the other has a herbicide) periodically and don't forget to wet it right when you put it down per the label. My only hard part is getting the wood chippings as that part is hard on my back, but that's simple enough to hire a neighbor kid to do. Round Up works well enough, but overspray will hurt the roses, and honestly, isn't it better to prevent the weeds rather than keep dealing with new ones??? Oh, another thing, the newspaper and the cardboard will draw the earthworms and you won't believe how much nicer your soil will look with their help!