Creating Planting Beds: Why Newspaper Layers Fail and Better Methods

The Newspaper Method: Popular but Flawed

Laying wet newspaper (12 sheets) over grass, then adding 2–3 inches of topsoil, is widely touted. Problems:

• Creates a textural barrier—roots hesitate to cross from loose topsoil into dense, root-filled clay beneath.
• Thin soil layer dries rapidly (full of old grass roots), stressing shallow-rooted plants.
• Newspaper decomposes slowly in dry conditions, prolonging the barrier.
• Pachysandra needs 6–8 inches of loose soil to spread well; 2–3 inches is insufficient.

Better: Smother, Then Till

1. Cover with black plastic (6 mil) for 6–8 weeks in growing season to kill grass/weeds via heat/smothering.
2. Remove plastic. Spread 3–4 inches compost/topsoil.
3. Till entire area 8–10 inches deep. Dead weeds become organic matter. Creates uniform root zone.
4. Plant pachysandra (or other groundcovers) into loose, deep soil.

If You Must Use Thin Soil (2–3 inches)

Only shallow-rooted groundcovers stand a chance:

• Sedum spp. (stonecrops)
• Lysimachia nummularia (creeping jenny)
• Pratia (blue star creeper)
• Thymus serpyllum (creeping thyme)
• Mazus reptans

Warning: Monitor moisture daily—thin soil over dense roots dries in hours.