Do you need to clean out old roots before you plant a garden?

Question

I am new to gardening and we just finished digging up a bunch of weeds and some plants. There's still alot of dead roots mixed in with the dirt. Do we need to make sure we clean out all of those before planting shrubs and flowers?

Answer 1

You don't have to clean out the roots, but you are taking a chance of them regrowing. Put down a layer or two, or three or four of wet newspapers, which will act as a mulch to prevent the weeds from growing. Cut holes in the paper where your plants grow, then cover with a thin layer of soil to hold the paper down.

Answer 2

Plant all your shrubs and then cover the bed with a landscaping fabric and then put mulch on top of the fabric. Newspapers will work but not for long because they will eventually decompose and you will start getting grass or weeds. Landscaping fabric will give a neat look with no weeds, grass and previous left over roots. You can buy this in any hardware store like Home Depot, Lowe's.

Answer 3

If they are dead then, no. The dead roots will decompose and add nutrients back into the soil. However, most living roots from weeds or grass will sprout anew. Clean out what you can, but if your certain they are dead then Happy Planting.