skip to main content

Ask The Yard Doctor

Bind weed? control

15 years ago

Yard Doctor,

Thanks for this opportunity to ask questions.

I have tons of what I think is bind weed growing in flower beds, and the yard. It appeared maybe 2 years ago. When I dig it up the root is like a very long creamy white cord with many plants coming off the same root. It is some kind of vine and twists around scrubs and fowers alike. It has a white or pink flower. How can it be controled both in grass and flowers and vegetable garden?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

yarddoctor
15 years ago
Dear Iris

Thank you very much for your inquiry. The weeds in the garden are not my specialty, I will tell you that up front, and nay herbicide applied over the top can be very injurious, as I am sure you know. Second, a vine weed is the most difficult to control, particularly in flowers. My first suggestion is to paint herbicides on the weedÂs leaves. Literally get a paint brush and paint the herbicide on the leaves. This insures no contact on any other portion of the garden. You will need to work back to the source, and it will take time, but you can use Roundup for this situation if you are careful. Once you get to the yard, use Weed B Gon MAX plus crabgrass control as this contains Trimec plus quinclorac. (you can use this to paint with as well). In the lawn area you can spray the grass with no effects.

Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more.

Respectfully

Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com
kittymoonbeam
15 years ago
Alas, I know this weed very well. It takes forever to paint all the tiny leaves and you drip it any way onto other areas. This worked well for me....Cut off the stems to about 8-10 inches and unwrap/detangle them intact from the plants. Place the cut ends into a container filled with 1/2 roundup, 1/2 water. I like to bury the container partway into the ground to avoid tipping. Don't water to aviod splashing the herbicide out of the cup. I cover the cup as well with a plastic bag to avoid fumes from damaging the other plants. You can reuse the cup several times for each bindweed you wnat to remove. This is how I removed bind weed from the plants I could not dig out and move. I have to caution you that on 2 instances, I had a little root burn on the plants where the bindweed roots were in close contact with the other plants roots. Also, some plants will be sensitive to the fumes of the roundup. This isn't a perfect method, but it worked well enough for me to completely get rid of all the binweed in my yard so I call it a good solution.

Other soulutions that worked for me were

Keep the plant cut off at ground level until no more growth sprouts. ( This takes FOREVER )

Dig out all the precious perennials you can and put them in containers while you continuously spray any growth the roots put out until the roots are exhausted.

Dig out any trace of root and sift all the soil for root bits. ( this works 70% of the time for me )

Above all, NEVER let this weed flower and set seed. A pre emergent herbicide works to control existing seeds but the plants with roots already need to treated with one of the above methods.
Related Discussions
Field Bind Weed
Q
Comments (6)
It's one of those drought tolerant, sun-loving, seeds last in the soil for 60 years plants. Deep sympathy. It doesn't like shade. It doesn't like being cut off with a hoe repeated over the growing season. It sneers at weed killer. Maybe a 'cleaning crop' such as potatoes would help to reduce its enthusiasm. When the tops grow it will shade the weeds and the hilling up would ensure that the new sprouts plus the old established plants would be made miserable. It grows from an underground stem rather than a simple root system so it has plenty of reserves to survive losing its top growth a few times - but not repeatedly. Another possible for particular areas is (gulp) polythene to cut out the light. It will not be great for your soil but, if you can keep the light away from the Convolvulus, it won't be great for that, either. It's a hard weed to battle over large areas. It might help to focus on a section and just do containment by taking off the greenery repeatedly in the wider areas of the garden. Building on where you've 'cleaned' the plague from the soil. Good luck.
...See More
bind weed/new garden
Q
Comments (11)
Tia, there has been a conversation about bindweed for over 6 years on RMG. Read the link below thoroughly - there are some great ideas, half-baked ideas, poignant comments, and good humor. My fight with bindweed goes like this, I spray Roundup (equivalent) on it when it shows up in the flower garden. It is hard to kill so I expect to come back and spray again in a couple of weeks. If it's in close to a precious dahlia or something, I will even use a paint brush to cover the plant. I never try to pull it unless it is a 1st year seedling - that foliage is useful for absorbing the herbicide. In the vegetable garden, it is a different ongoing battle. In my oldest beds & paths, it's gone. Elsewhere, it is suppressed to the point of sneaky reconnaissance or that innocent-looking seedling that shows up regularly. Some new places, all I'm doing is beating it down so it doesn't cause problems for the vegetables. I once dug out 2 completely bindweed & quackgrass filled beds along my alley. Actually, it was once an alley but had been closed for decades. The ground behind my garage and over the back fence probably hadn't even been visited by some of the previous residents of the home. I went through every shovelful of soil to a depth of 12 inches and eliminated the quackgrass but the bindweed came back. I think it is tragically easy to miss the deep brown-rooted bindweed. One thing, if you use herbicides to keep the weeds from encroaching from the neighbor's property, the perennial plants like bindweed can be stopped. Seeds will still come across the border but seedlings are easily pulled. Soldier on. Steve Here is a link that might be useful: RMG bindweed conversation
...See More
how to get rid of bind weed
Q
Comments (0)
My daughters yard is being over run with bind weed. I need to find something I can use that won't harm her two puppies. Any help anyone can give would be great.
...See More
Turning weeds over, how effective for weed control?
Q
Comments (4)
Plowing is the same thing as tilling, and both can turn up "weed" seeds that might germinate. Your mother did what many of us do with "weeds" if we don't gather them up and compost them, although there are thos neat freaks that cannot bear to see this kind of messy garden and have this strong need to throw away those "weeds" and the nutrients the took from the soil and which you will need to replace.
...See More
iris16
Original Author
15 years ago
Trey and Kitty
Thank you both for your help. I am determined to win the battle over this weed and will try these methods ASAP, (if the rain ever stops here in western Maryland)
Thanks!
Iris
hardingpete_yahoo_ca
15 years ago
I have never seen a more tenacious and overwhelming weed than this stuff!

I am ready to give up, and let it become my ground cover, instead of grass.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Ways to Naturally Win the Weed War

By Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Show irksome weeds no mercy with these tricks for combating them sans chemicals

GARDENING GUIDES Weed War: When and How to Use Chemical Herbicides

By Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Before you spray, arm yourself with knowledge about which weed killers — natural or synthetic — are right for your yard

GARDENING GUIDES Tackle Weeds the Natural Way

By Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Instead of dousing your yard with chemicals to wipe out weeds, let time and nature work their magic via smothering and solarization

EDIBLE GARDENS Natural Ways to Get Rid of Weeds in Your Garden

By Abundant City

Use these techniques to help prevent the spread of weeds and to learn about your soil

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Weed-Smothering Ground Covers

Let these landscape plants do the dirty work of choking out weeds while you sit back and enjoy the view

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Bugle Weed, a Quick Ground Cover

It’s highly adaptable, suppresses weeds, reduces erosion and provide weeks of bright flowers. Just watch for invasiveness

GARDENING GUIDES Let's Weed Out 4 Native Plant Myths

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Plant wisely for a garden that supports pollinators and requires less work

HOUZZ TOURS Houzz Tour: From Overgrown Weeds to Picturesque Farmhouse Expanse

By Mitchell Parker

This once-neglected 100-acre South Carolina site now features a lake, a wood-filled farmhouse and a far-reaching view

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES 3 Ways Native Plants Make Gardening So Much Better

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

You probably know about the lower maintenance. But native plants' other benefits go far beyond a little less watering and weeding

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Exuberant Self-Seeders for Gorgeous, Easy-Care Gardens

By Donald Pell - Gardens

Keep weeds down, color high and maintenance low with beautful plants that sow themselves

Sponsored

Peabody Landscape Group

8 Reviews

Franklin County's Reliable Landscape Design & Contracting

More Discussions

Are my newly viburnums dead or dying?

3

Can I recover the structure of this tree?

0

Cement or pavers- which is better?

9