Bindweed

I’ve had a gentleman ask how you can get rid of bindweed in the garden, so I’ve written this post to show what possible controls there are out there to try on this menace of a weed.

Bindweed covers two varieties, the hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) and field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). Both wrap themselves around other plants and smother them in the process. The hedge bindweed has white trumpet shaped flowers and the field bindweed had smaller white or pink flowers.

Bindweed is a very problematic weed as it has a perennial root system which allows it to come back year after year, and even the smallest bit of root left in the ground can sprout a new plant. The extensive root system means that the plant can extend up to two metres above ground in a single season.

It is very difficult to remove bindweed from a plot of land using non-chemical methods but if you put the effort in, then you may see an improvement. As the roots are so extensive it is worth putting a physical barrier along fences and boundaries to stop it encroaching onto other land. It would need to be a vertical, solid barrier that reaches at least 45cm deep.

You can always dig the ground where you have found the bindweed and remove as much of the root as possible but in spring you will likely get more growing and will need to repeat the process.

You can also hoe the soil if digging would mean you disturbed other plant roots in the area. By doing so you would sever the weed at ground level but again this would need repeating as the weed will persist and come back again.

Should you wish to use a chemical method then Glyphosate will attack the weed by entering the foliage and would work its way down the plants’ system. As this chemical is a non-selective weed killer it is essential that you don’t spray neighbouring plants as it will kill these off too. The most effective time to spray the weed is when it has started flowering but can be effective in autumn too.

Information provided by www.rhs.org.uk