Paul if you are raking your leaves that is why you are getting germination. My oak trees do the same thing. Before I clean my gutters every year those things are growing in the gutter in every crack between the bricks but not in the hosta garden. They do not grow on the floor of a forest. They need ground and light to grow.
My gardens are to tight and with the thick mulch of leaves they cannot grow. That is why I plant close. I do not have the time or energy to weed the gardens.
