you'll find that pretty much everyone on this forum is "organic", and would be against this stuff. A few inches or more of shredded leaves or other mulch will deter weeds, without the use of chemical herbicides.

Do not use it where humans or pets will be in contact with it. This chemical class of herbicides is highly questionable in terms of safety to YOU! (Rather more important than the plants, I think.)

Lots of discussions all over GW on using plastic mulches - both pro and con. The link below will give you lots of feedback on the issues.

Yes, it can inhibit perennial spread and it will prevent reseeding. It can also inhibit root nutrient absorbtion and it doesn't last nearly as long as it claims so causes repeat work. But for us organic gardeners it's a big no because it is detrimental to the soil web bacteria.

Here is a link that might be useful: Using plastic mulches

It's not plastic mulch- it's bark mulch with herbicide in it.

Oops! Sorry. Thanks for the correction pablo. The Schultz brand Weed-Stop mulch sold at my Wal Mart is a roll of black plastic - the kind with all the little holes munched in it and the weed killer coating on the back - so I assumed that was what we were taking about.

Guess I need to go explore all their stuff out in the parking lot more. ;)

No worries- weed cloth is the normal question here :)

There is no herbicide made than can tell the difference between a "weed" and a flowering plant. All herbicides are detrimental to the growth of all plants, whether considered "weeds" or not.

Here's the advantage of using organic mulch like shredded leaves to stop weeds. It encourages earthworms who's favorite food is dead leaves. They come up and bite off a tidbit of the decomposing leaf and carry it down into the soil, process it through their little systems and leave you healthy little castings. These castings are plants favorite foods because they are full of nutrients in a readily available form to be absorbed by the plants roots. The worms also have to eat the soil for the grit to help them process the leaves, so they burrow. This aerates the soil and before you know it, even if you do get some weeds, they are easy to pull out because the soil is so soft and full of wormy tunnels. YA! :) Earthworms, ya gotta love those little guys. Oh, and by the way, if you use a herbicide and the plant dies and the worms eats it, he dies too. :( Cheryl

I still think that newspaper is the best mulch around and it is free! Newspaper stops weeds from growing by blocking light and acting as a barrier but it will break down after a season or so, which is a good thing. This allows the mulch on top of the newspaper to mix with the soil. This does not happen with plastics. Plus I think the herbicide is unnecessary. Newspaper or cardboard does the job without it.

I'm all about safe, and that stuff is expensive, to boot. Thank you for all your replies.