Bindweed is an invasive perennial weed that grows quickly and takes over whatever land it has access to. If you’ve got Bindweed on your lawn, in the garden, or anywhere else – don’t panic!
You can get rid of this pesky plant with a few easy steps. and this article will teach you how to identify the weed so you know what kind of herbicide or other treatment to use before taking any drastic measures. Let’s get started.
What Is Bindweed?
Bindweed, or Convolvulus arvensis, is also called Perennial Morning Glory, European Bindweed, and Wither Wood. It’s an invasive weed of the morning glory family which means it has beautiful flowers but also spreads quickly and aggressively, outcompeting good plants for space in your garden.
Bindweed is native to Europe and Asia, but it has been naturalized and introduced in many other climates and countries, where it is often classified as an invasive species.
How Does Bindweed Grow And Where?
Bindweed usually starts out as a small plant but will grow into large clumps if left unchecked for too long because it produces runners underground which spread farther when mature plants die off during winter months. It is rhizomatous, which means it spreads via root shoots and runners.
Bindweed can grow in a wide range of soil types, but prefers slightly alkaline soils with good nutrient levels for optimal growth. They grow best in places that get full sun, and where the soil is moist but not too damp.
Bindweed is a pesky weed because it can grow deep roots that reach up to several meters underground which makes it very difficult to control or eliminate without the help of chemicals or other methods like digging up the entire root system with a shovel.
It is able to grow in many different places, such as farmlands and pastures, waste places, alongside roads and streams, grassy slopes, and is sometimes found in lawns and gardens. It can even grow on hot asphalt by creeping onto it from a grassy roadside position.
How To Identify Bindweed
We know where bindweed commonly grows, but what does it look like?
The best way to identify bindweed is by its flowers. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, about an inch wide, and are either white or a pale pink, with five radial stripes that are slightly darker pink. These look like morning glory flowers.
Bindweed is a perennial, creeping vine that either grows close to the ground or climbs up a tree or other object. It can grow up to 2 meters in length and can climb about 1 meter high.
Its leaves are long, thin, and shaped like an oval or a heart. They are fairly smooth with smooth edges.
How To Kill Bindweed In Your Garden
Once you have identified it properly and established that it is growing in your lawn, here are some techniques for killing it.
To warn you, however, bindweed is one of the more difficult to remove weeds from a garden because it has such a deep root system and is so tenacious. Some sources say its roots can grow up to 10 meters deep – try removing that with just hand pulling! It can also sprout from seeds that are up to 20 years old.
Although it seems hard to kill, there are ways to eliminate bindweed from your yard or garden. You can use an herbicide remedy, or a more organic solution.
Chemically
There are many different herbicides you can choose from at your local garden supply store, but we recommend using a glyphosate-based herbicide that is designed to kill weeds and bindweed in particular. This type of chemical simply kills growing plants that come into contact with it so be sure to read and follow the instructions on whatever product you choose. This Compare-N-Save Concentrate would be a great choice.
You can also use a weed killer with 2,4-D as the active ingredient, such as the Southern Ag Crossbow Herbicide.
Be sure to apply the glyphosate or 2,4-D weed killer directly to the leaves and stems of all known bindweed plants in your yard or garden, even if you can’t see them. You should also treat any areas where they may have grown before and left a runner behind, even if no live bindweed currently exists there.
Organically
If the bindweed is in your garden and you want to get rid of it organically, try scattering cardboard over the plants and covering the plants with a thick layer of mulch. The cardboard will cut off any sunlight from reaching above ground while the mulch keeps soil moisture levels low so the plants dry out to kill them completely.
Hand pulling is also an option, especially if the bindweed in your lawn is relatively young. To do this method, either pull it up by hand or plow the affected area every three weeks. However, you will have to do this for up to three to seven years in order to make sure you get all of the dormant seeds and roots so that it can’t regrow.
Can You Prevent Bindweed from Growing In Your Lawn?
There are many ways you can get rid of bindweed, but the best way to make sure it never comes back is through preventative measures. Luckily, even though it is relatively hard to remove and kill it, bindweed is not particularly a fast and productive weed – it doesn’t easily spread in places it is not already established.
Bindweed requires disturbed and open ground and is not good at fighting other taller shrubs and trees for sunlight, so it can easily be shaded out. One thing to do to prevent bindweed, then, would be to add some tall plants in your garden and maybe break up any wide-open spaces you might have.
Additionally, adding a layer of mulch or cardboard can be helpful, as it would make the soil too dark for bindweed to grow. Any light-blocking material, however, must be maintained for at least three to five years.
That’s All
If you want to stop bindweed in your yard, it is important that you identify the weed and then take steps to get rid of it. You can use organic or chemical methods to kill bindweed in your yard. Make sure not to miss any areas where this invasive weed may be hiding so that all of the roots are killed off.
The last thing you want is for a new batch of bindweed from one area growing back up somewhere else on your property – be diligent with destroying every bit of this plant before they spread further into other parts of your lawn or garden. It will require some time but if done correctly, there should never be another problem once the entire root system has been eliminated completely! We wish you the best of luck battling this invasive weed.