I am putting in some flower beds at my office, want them to be as low maintenance as possible. I am undecided on river rock vs. mulch. But I want to put down weed barrier underneath, whichever way I go. I know not all weed barriers are equal. Anybody know of a good durable one that will last a number of years?

Thanks

I put Tyvek housewrap under my stuff.

The best is sold at commercial landscape supply stores. Fancy word is geotextile or landscape fabric.

Go for the heaviest weight you can afford per square foot.

This some of the best product out there.

https://www.srwproducts.com/products/fabric

I have always found rock to be the biggest PITA for a flower bed. Mulch is better, replenishes nutrients and keeps the weeds down. The woven fabric stuff seems to be best, just go with the heaviest you can swing as stated above.

For years we had mulch in the flower beds around our house.............and we had insects galore.They love mulch, and they thrive in it. So we replaced the mulch with creek gravel, and the bug problem pretty much went away. I've used several kinds of the landscape fabric, from the cheap Walmart and Lowes stuff, to the kind that greenhouse suppliers sell. The later will last a very long time, and is really not that costly.

I have both river rock and mulch around my house. Mulch is a PIA and a bug factory. River rock super easy to maintain.

ya as said above, the heavy duty black geotex is the ticket. a bit pricey but you won't need to replace it for a long time.

I hate any of the sheet stuff. For me it always ends up showing somewhere. In time you end up with soil on top of it and weeds grow anyway.

I just mulch/rock and either spray Roundup or a ground sterilant depending on what bed and what I’m doing with it plant wise. If kept up with, the weeds are easy to knock back.

I used tyvek under the lava rock we have, been there 15 years.

Weed barriers may not work as anticipated after a few years, especially if you cover them with anything else. Organic materials collect on top of the barrier, break down, and become a compost for weed growth.

Rubber Mulch works pretty well.

Mulch will grow weeds after a couple years. Birds and wind will leave weed seeds in the mulch and enough dust will accumulate to germinate them. The roots will spread out over the weed barrier.

Shingles. Find someone who's getting a new roof. The contractor or home owner will allow you to take as many old shingles as you want. We lay them down and place our rocks on top. Cut holes where you wish to plant flowers.

The fabric they use for greenhouse floors. It's very tough, weed proof, and water will go through it. Under mulch or rocks it'll last indefinitely.
Here's one example: GREENHOUSE FLOOR

The green house floor is good!