Bindweed - help!

[flowerstar19]

Our flowerbeds are absolutely overrun with bindweed, it is growing up every other plant and tree - have just started digging the flowerbeds over, trying to get out as much root as possible, before starting again as we are trying to sort out the garden this year - I am planning on planting some new things and trying to stay on top of it, but is there anything else I can do to get rid of it?!

roundup gel would probably do the trick. carefully put some on only the leaves of the bindweed and not anything else.

We've successfully gotten rid of an impressive infestation just by the pull-it-up-carefully-whenever-you-see-it method. My kids are now demon bindweed spotters and removers, and have been promoted to dandilion duties.
Whenever we've dug an actual bed we've sifted through for the roots, but most places we've just pulled.

Thank you both! We do have some on the spot round up but good idea - I might try and get my 4 year old involved first! I think I have been bad gnoring it until it had gone completely wild!!!

*ignoring

Bindweed you need to get all the root up, it's long and white. Any left and it regrows, I'm not sure a four year old could do it well enough to be honest.

Persistent pulling up works as soon as you see a bit, but it can take years.

I've successfully used that technique with mares tail (horse tail) wich is resistant to Roundup and comes up in a rockery type bank, beside my raspberries, the patio and between the cracks in a path.

After about 8 years of doing this, I've almost got rid of it (although I came across two spikes of it last week beside the raspberries ). It's as if it has a "perception filter": you inspect the problem places closely, don't see any and then an hour later you notice spikes exactly where you'd been looking that are at least 6" tall

Don’t use roundup. The active ingredient has been shown to increase the risk of cancer by 41%.
Like everything we put it n the soil it ends up in the watercourse.

Google it, it’s not pretty.
But neither is bindweed. I have eliminated it from
The veg beds by doing the No Dig method, but it’s hard to make that work for flower beds. I second the pps suggestion of dull g it out every time you see it. I tell myself that it’s easier to do 10 mins a day than leave it for when I have a free hour, but it’s more like 2 minutes BSD 3 timed a week, and get really cross with the weeds....

I never use chemicals in the garden, roundup is terrible for wildlife.
You just pull it up wherever you see it and eventually it will go, I hardly have any now.

@Bluntness100 what the four year old lacks in root-clearing ability he makes up for in total enthusiasm at getting any leafy bit that dares poke up its head. It's worked for us- 18 months in and I barely ever see any. The now five year old still pounces when any appears though.

'Bindweed patrol' was my main self-appointed gardening duty when I was a kid. It's very satisfying.

OT I wish someone could cross our white, thuggish bindweed with the glorious blue morning glories - I never have much luck trying to grow those.

Yep, we left the pretty white flowers the first year we lived here, realised after a summer of it, the following year we pulled up any we saw and it’s much easier to manage now we’re in 3rd year. Don’t use chemicals!

Okay, will definitely avoid the chemicals, I promise! Bindweed patrol it is, have got tonnes out so far today and am training up my son to look too! @DustyDoorframes hoping he will be as committed as your DC! Do appreciate he may not get the roots though but I will keep working on it. Totally agree about the 10 mins regularly, trouble is DS2 is an awful sleeper, he is already awake for the first time so my plans to attack the garden this evening are already in jeopardy!

Thanks everyone!

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but if you have a compost heap don't put the bindweed on it. Domestic compost heaps don't usually get hot enough to destroy it.

I came on to ask about bindweed. This is the back of our garden. The hedge (and the bank between the wall and the hedge) is chock full of bindweed. The other side of the hedge is an agricultural field owned by someone else. WWYD?

Check that they aren't farming organically if you think of using chemicals

It’s used for cattle (sometimes). It’s growing all through the hedge so I don’t even know how you could use chemicals even if you wanted to!

Off topic, but bindweed flowers are so pretty.

I've got rid of most of mine by the seek and destroy method. I get the odd one popping up. Don't put it in the compost btw as it can spread it further.

@Thegirlisnotright what are your plans for that bit if the garden?

Off topic, but bindweed flowers are so pretty.

They are, if only the plant wasn't such a thug strangling other plants I'd leave it.
In the case of thegirl's hedge, I might be inclined to pull out enough that the hedge wasn't swamped, and definitely any that was trying to encroach on the garden, but maybe not mind a bit flowering - look on it as white morning glory! Not sure that would be wise though.

Yes, that's probably what I would do erroll. They are so pretty!

Thank you. I will remove what I can then and not worry too much for now 😆

Yes, we went with the continually pull the bugger up approach in flower beds & pour boiling water on it on the patio. It took about 18 months for it to stop even trying but I’ve not seen any for around 3 years now, ndn did exactly the same methods on her side too at the same time. We think it gave our gardens up as a bad job & is now next door but one to me in abundance.

You’ve had no luck with Morning Glories Errol? What’s going wrong? We are the opposite here-they are taking over (as is bindweed)

5 years in and i have nearly got a grip of it here. i use the "gently pull it" method to try and coax out the whole or at least a lot of the root. every time i see some i pull it.

i used to feel really overwhelmed by it but it has got better over time.

good luck!