help needed please

The bulbs will push their way through the bark, although smaller ones such as crocus or aconite may have a little more difficulty if the depth of bark is 2 inches or more. Bark will suppress weeds for a while, but soil inevitably blows onto the top of the bark, and it decomposes, so you will still get weed germination. It also won't stop deeprooted perennial weeds such as dandelion and dock from growing if they are already present in the soil. You may also find you have a nice crop of toadstools at certain points in the year - the spores are often present in bark chips when you buy them.

I should imagine you'd need to put a weed membrane down first, before laying the bark, to really help minimise the weeds that will inevitably push through. I have gravel beds, with membrane underneath that and the few weeds that do get through are very managable.
There is a particular area in the front garden where the previous tenant must've planted daffs and tulips because they push through the gravel every year (and we've been here 7 years now) - so I should imagine they'll grow through bark perfectly fine.

Posted at the same time :o))

Don't use membrane - none of your bulbs will be able to grow.

The daffs and tulips manage to grow through weed membrane and gravel in my garden Bamboo :o)

I refuse to believe that an intact membrane will allow bulb growth, or any other growth, come to that - unless you cut a hole in to plant the bulbs through. After all, the purpose of the membrane is to prevent plants growing through it, so did you cut a hole in yours first, or a diagonal cross? Or has it just rotted, or slipped?

That was quick! As I said in previous post, there were tulips and daffs planted before we moved in. We covered the area with membrane and atleast 3" gravel but the damn things still grow through every year, wouldn't mind if they were in an area I wanted them in. Gravel's been down 4 years now, and no the fabric is still perfect underneath.

Not much point in membrane then, is there, if its going to let stuff grow through. Maybe its the really thin stuff you used sold as weed suppressant by the garden centres - that stuff wears thin rather quickly.

No it isn't the 'really thin stuff', I paid a lot of money for good quality membrane and apart from the 4 bulbs that grew through it I haven't had any problems with it and it hasn't 'worn away'. Sometimes I wonder why I bother giving any advice on here... :o(

Oh dear, what is the matter with people today, must be something in the stars. I wasn't suggesting you were being cheapskate, or anything else you might be supposing, but it strikes me as very odd that you have anything at all growing through membrane, expensive or otherwise, when the point of it is to stop anything growing through, with the possible exception of Japanese Knotweed or bamboo, of course. I can't pretend this happens all the time with membrane and that it's perfectly normal, because it isn't, and I'm sorry if that upsets you, Busybee, it's certainly not my intention to cause offence. I accept you have bulbs which grow through your membrane, but it doesn't alter the fact that I've never had anything grow through any membrane I've laid unless its intentional.

Well I guess I must be an exception then, Bamboo, as those 4 bulbs are the only things that have ever grown through any membrane in my garden. I didn't take offence in anything you said, so please don't apologise. I just wish that when a 'newbie' GoYer answers a question about something they actually have experience of, they weren't made to feel like they didn't know anything by the more 'mature' GoYer. I never doubt anyone elses answers because I realise that everyone's garden is completely different and everyone will have different experiences.

I'm sorry if you felt that way, but if I'd only been a member 2 weeks, I'd have made the same response, and made it only because I've laid membrane in many clients' gardens over the years for different purposes, and I'm on here to share that experience and knowledge with other people now I have more free time. Which is what I've done, as have you.

:o))