Weeds in nursery pots

[englewoodhomegrown]

What's everyones take on managing weeds growing in the pots with your trees? I know most people's instinct is to pull them out asap, but could there be any benefit to just letting them go wild in there? I'm sure at some level they are competing and pulling nutrients out of the soil and away from the main plant in the pot. At the same time, maybe it could be helping by shading the bare soil and promoting a bit of a mini ecosystem within the space, benefitting the tree? If you're in a commercial setting, it's probably not a good look to have weedy pots, but otherwise, why not just leave them in there?

[brian]

Pull them ASAP.  Often the root system of these weeds is huge compared to their above ground size and can consume most of the container of left unchecked.  I’m always shocked when I pull something like crabgrass from a pot and the whole plant comes out with it.

Moss is nice.  I leave moss but that’s it

[BonsaiBeast]

Mulch the pot instead.

[shpaz]

Mulch the pot instead.

Listen to this guy

[Cookie Monster]

Don't leave them in there. When I was growing plants for sale, I used a pre-emergent herbicide. Mulch sounds like a good idea though.

[carcarlo]

That's a Dam if I do and Dam if I don't situation, I always pull the weeds from the pots, but it seems as they come right back and win the Battle again. I tried Mulching and that was a Haven for the Snails and Slogs, so I stopped the Mulching, and I'm back to pulling weeds.
Carlos

[Tropheus76]

That's my problem as well. I mulch and they don't seem to care and weeds are back within days. I probably spend 30 minutes a week pulling weeds from potted plants.

[Cookie Monster]

Pulling weeds actually seems to create a fertile environment for new weeds to grow. It also exposes seeds to the surface that weren't previously exposed. In hot and rainy Florida, pulling weeds is a losing battle.

The quickest way to resolve this is to use a pre-emergent. Apply once every 6 months along with your slow release fertilizer and you're done. That's what many nurseries use. You just want to be a little careful not to eat the fruit, as the pre-emergents are typically not indicated for bearing and edible crops.

[Doug]

Well, I don't want to sound too contrarian, but I always leave the weeds growing . . . unless they get too high, after which I clip them down a bit. I think Nature is about environmental diversity, and those weed roots play a part in balancing the soil and making the nutrients there-in more potent and available to my little seedling trees. Works for me . . .  along with an occasional dose of pee as I pass by.

[Vernmented]

Just be happy you aren't using rootmaker pots. Then you have weeds growing out of the side holes as well as the top. I have had weeds choke out a bunch of stuff. I try to pull as much as I can. I am hoping that once everything is cleaned up and weeded here it won't be a major event to keep up with potted stuff on top of nursery benches. Fresh clean potting mix should help as well. I have even used synthetic fiber rootcaps but I was too impressed. 

I mulch 15 gal and larger with pine straw.

It probably depends on what you are growing as well. A really tough plant may do ok with weeds.

[brian]

Pre-emergent is a great idea if you aren't trying to grow organic (I'm not).  However I never see pure pre-emergent for sale, only "weed & feed" which has huge nitrogen content.  I haven't looked very hard though.

You could use cut circles of landscape fabric, too.  I might just do that as I already have a big roll of it.

[Triloba Tracker]

Pulling weeds actually seems to create a fertile environment for new weeds to grow. It also exposes seeds to the surface that weren't previously exposed.

Once I learned this critical maxim, my life got a lot easier.
I am sold on yearly mulching and propane-torching. No pulling unless absolutely necessary.

[englewoodhomegrown]

I've also tried planting sunshine mimosa in the pots with the trees. Didn't help with the weeds, but it was nice to have a pre-planted nitrogen fixer at the base of the tree when it went in the ground.

[sahai1]

might want to figure out where the weeds are coming from.. just using dirt from the garden? pots on ground level near where you mow the grass?

[pineislander]

I noticed a bursery using permeable geotextile weed discs. I'd be interested but didn't get the chance to ask how they have worked out. Similar to these:
 http://www.timmenterprises.com/te-weed-prevention

[chad6159]

I noticed a bursery using permeable geotextile weed discs. I'd be interested but didn't get the chance to ask how they have worked out. Similar to these:
 http://www.timmenterprises.com/te-weed-prevention

Someone I know uses them and it seems to work good. However eventually grass and weeds start growing into them