Pine Straw or Bark over White Stone?
 

I have front and back yard covered with white stone. Since it's been a long time, weeds are growing thru the PVC cover beneath. I have been hiring landscaper for weeding and shrub trimming but I have a feeling these guys are not regularly spraying and I have reservations for those chemicals they have been spraying even when they do their job.
So, can I cover my white stone with Pine Straws or Pine Barks and would they prevent any weeds growing? What's the difference between 14" and 9" pine straws? What would be the best option to prevent weeds if not pine barks/straws? My neighbor installed artificial turf but I really don't like anything artificial and I think they are much more costly..

Cheers!

The reason (IMHO) you have weeds in the stone is all of the dust, dirt, etc, has settled between the stones and provides a place for weeds to go. We have stone also, and when i hand pick the weeds they are definitely ABOVE the "weed barrier". So, what we have done is invest in one of the battery powered weed control sprayers, and I spot weed as necessary, takes about 10 to 15 minutes for all of our garden area, and I refill the battery powered container as necessary.
Also, when we had pine bark, it was 3 to 4 inches, the same for the pine straw. We removed the pine bark as it was dirty as it decomposed, the pine straw seems to be much cleaner.
I actually saw an article within the last 6 months that made a very good case for not using a weed barrier at all.
In any case I would not place either of these items over the rock, O would remove the rock and then install.
Hope this helps.

OP, VT (post #2) made an excellent post and explanation of your issue. I will only reiterate for you not to put pine needles or bark over the top of your rock as that would just compound the problem you
have. We have rock and about every three or four years we top it off and that seems to help the weed issue. Weeds are a difficult if not impossible to totally control. Our bushes, roses and such are doing well from the spraying we do. Just don’t weed spray when it’s windy! Good luck.

I was told the worse color stone to use is white around plantings of shrubbery, flowers, and bushes.
The reason is the white stone reflects the sun off tender leaves and branches from underneath burns the plants foliage and
will kill the plants.

This sounds like a crazy idea. What's next, install more rocks over the pine straw, and then some more pine straw?

Weed Seeds are airborne. They settle where they will; on mulch, pine straw or stone. Weed barriers don’t work against these type of weeds. If you don’t like the chemicals, try using a DIY vinegar based weed killer. (You can google various recipes).

Pine Straw is available in long leaf or regular….at the end of the day they do the same thing ; retain moisture and cool the roots of plants from the scorching sun. Not sure they get to 14”….

Pine Straw and Mulch are beneficial. I can’t see why you could not cover the rocks. They do bring their own issues as the fade quickly and might harbor termites. Mulch might float away during heavy rains. But, weeds will still grow in this medium.

Live with the rock but do your own weed spraying. It’s the easier and cheaper alternative to all of the options.

Weed Killer
 

I have tried numerous brands of weed killer with limited success. Has anyone used a brand that could recommend to kill weeds and grass. This would be in an area where there are no pets or people in the vicinity.
Thanks

Nothing will stop weeds I would pull up cloth weed put down preen a pre-emergent then use pine straw thick pull weeds when they pop up.

There is nothing to stop weeds we control weeds

May I suggest going to the big box store and buying a hand held burner that uses a small propane bottle (like for camping). Walk around and burn the weeds. I would not use it on Pine Needles :-).

Landscapers are quick to sell stone. The Villages Master Gardners and many others will tell you to only use pine straw or bark. Worth attending some of their programs.

This is Florida......weeds are a fact of life, like sunshine.

You are absolutely correct the weeds are above the weed cloth and are easily pulled. I regularly pull the weeds to keep them under control nothing will stop the weeds. I recently pulled up some stone to put in a patio and was amazed how much dirt was above the weed cloth.

To kill weeds in my flowerbeds, I mix 1 gallon white vinegar, 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon of Dawn dishwasher soap in a spray bottle. Will kill weeds in a couple of days and kills ants too. Be careful to not spray on plants you want. Also, plants will do much better if you make a small circular area (move rocks out of the circular area) around the plants low to the ground and put mulch in that circular area. The mulch allows the plants not to burn since rocks keep the heat in.

That's what I use in my rock areas. Works pretty well.

I have white rock in my landscape and have few issues. I found that I can control weeds that germinate from seeds by sprinkling some preen on the rock landscape area. Preen is sold in most big box hardware stores. It is not a weed killer so it won't kill your garden plants. It works by preventing seeds from germinating. It will not kill already germinated weeds. You may have to sprinkle it on a few times to get good coverage. It last about 6 - 7 months for me and drastically reduces the weeds popping up through the rocks. Over time it has reduced my weeding by about 90 %.