Monday, May 19, 2014

The Evil Vine

For the first 4 or 5 years we lived in this house I did weekly battles with bindweed. It grew up into the privet on the north side of our backyard. At first I pulled armfuls (depriving the plant of the photosynthesis it needs to live and making it weaker, or so I hoped), and slowly over the years I won the battle. The last couple of years I rarely saw a leaf, but if I did I pulled it immediately, in fact I had forgotten about it completely until I saw this…

This is an old unused garbage can where I tossed the roots I dug out of the area where the privet was removed. Since the ground under the privet was formerly covered in ivy and vinca I wanted to make sure I got it all out (or at least as much as I could) before I started planting. The clods of clay soil make the debris quite heavy so I’m slowly working it into our yard waste container. I went to grab a couple of handfuls and discovered the bindweed growing happily where none had been two weeks earlier. If it’s growing like this with no water or light for months what does that mean for the bits I might have left behind, in the soil?

Yep…"They're ba-ack!"

I’ve read about weeds that can lie dormant in the soil for years, until just the right time to unleash their weedy fury. Looks like I’m going to have a battle on my hands…

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

39 comments:

  1. Oh No! I fight bindweed here too, pulling it up whenever I see it. It comes in under the fence from my neighbor's yard. So frustrating. I hope you win this battle.

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    1. Ya that's going to be part of the problem, as the privet was growing on our property line there is a healthy amount of this in the neighbors yard too. Back when a different neighbor lived there he used to go out of town all the time and I'd get his mail and watch the place for him. That always meant taking advantage of his being gone to pull the bindweed from his side too!

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  2. Ugh, I hate this stuff! Like Alison I have it coming under the fence from my neighbors. Last fall it suddenly started appearing clear across the yard in the other neighbor's yard. I feel your pain.

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    1. The fence next to the flippers? They only removed the good stuff and left the bad? As you might be able to tell in the photo above the sprig I found that day is coming up right next to the fence. I can only hope my neighbors will be diligent at staying on top of this too otherwise I'm sure I'll be in the same situation as you.

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  3. Oh, so sorry you have this evil plant in your yard. This is more than a battle, this is war. A war that will go on for years. I know you are organic, but you might want to consider a careful application of a systemic chemical to get at this plant. You need to kill the roots, which are probably half way to middle-earth by now. Good luck.

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    1. So do you consider this even worse than Bishop's Weed? I was feeling like it would be easier since I basically conquered it once.

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    2. Yes, it's worse than Bishop's Weed. At least with BW you can get at the roots and, although a long painstaking process, you can remove all of the roots. But with this monster - who knows where those roots are!

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  4. Ugh. Would you rather have this or the Bishop's Weed back again?

    I envision a future where we have trained or bioengineered rabbits to eat certain plants only. Bindweed would get its own rabbit for sure.

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    1. This for sure!!! I think because the Bishops Weed battle was so labor intensive (the big dig) and sent me to the chiropractor.

      Can you come up with something that eats the slugs and cutworms too?

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  5. Oh no! I hope you win the battle without a trip to the chiropractor. I remember how many years it took me to get rid of a pretty but virulent morning glory vine in my old garden. Here, I battle spearmint, which the former owner planted throughout one of the raised planters in the vegetable garden because "it did so well."

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    1. This one won't involve a chiropractor, it doesn't have the density which required sitting contorted and digging for hours on end, thankfully!

      Ah yes...mint. I removed it all before planting an agave in a big container which had ginger mint in it prior. Funny you can hardly see the agave for the mint now...

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  6. I'd never encountered bindweed before until this spring, when we put in a veg raised bed garden in Mitch's rental in the Mission in SF - - the sunniest part of SF. And they have that rare thing in SF, a really big space for a garden, bigger than mine! So exciting -- until getting up close to finally clear out the weeds and discovering it's covered in bindweed. Research was so depressing. The seeds can last 30 yrs! We're going to put landscape cloth over everything and huge amounts of free mulch. I've never seen this here, must like cooler temps.

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    1. Oh I bet without winter to knock it back (I say that not having any idea if it's true) it can go crazy in SF! Lucky Mitch, good find (the rental, not the weed).

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  7. Bindweed - bane of my life ! Totally evil, it comes snaking out of the ground, then twines round some poor unsuspecting fragile flower before you have time to finish it off. Good luck with the battle !

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    1. It really is pretty amazing the way it can twine, if only it were a desirable plant!

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  8. AnonymousMay 19, 2014

    GRRRR!! A war on all fronts. All three of my neighbors have invaders poking under the fence: morning glory, blackberry, raspberry, clematis, English ivy. Morning glory is the most tenacious. I tried soaking the tips of short shoots in cups of Round Up last fall, hoping the poison would travel to the roots. It did have some effect, since I don't see any new growth where I did this, but in other areas the evil weed is popping up.
    Jim N. Tabor

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    1. Wow...that sounds horrible! I feel better about my one small battle...

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  9. Well, it was nice knowing you Loree:) I got rid of my infestation by gently putting a bit of round up in a zip lock bag, keeping it upright, the ends of the vines were coiled in the bag and it was left on for several weeks as the vines grew and absorbed more poison. Folded paper towels inside the bag can help keep the liquid in place should something knock the bag over. After you're sure that the bindweed is dead, cut the stems, push them in the bag, zip it shut and throw it away. This was courtesy of Cisco Morris and it was effective. You could also try vinegar sprayed on the leaves on a really hot day.

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    1. Thank you for the tip, if need be I will keep it in mind. Since it's not a blanket (at least now!) I don't think I'll be doing anymore than pulling when I see it but it's good to have a back up plan.

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  10. Reminds me of my years long battle with Strangling Dog Vine. Every spring I pull it out as soon as it starts sprouting, and every spring, it returns. Of course, it doesn't help that the townhouse next door is empty and that they don't do much beyond cutting the grass/weeds, so it has a chance to grow like mad there and drop seed pods everywhere.

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  11. Ugh! One of the most pernicious weeds in my own garden, and it grows so damn fast! My neighbors have let it go crazy on their side of the fence, and it pops up from rhizomes several feet away on my side! And of course as long as they have it, I have it!

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    1. Yes! It is fast, I was surprised. Darn neighbors!!!

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  12. Oh noooo... I also have problems with some kind of Convolvulus that lives in my zone and takes over all my garden...it is always everywhere...

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    1. If only they were desirable plants we'd be so happy!

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  13. I just spent a couple of days digging up a bed and trying to get out all the morning glory roots. All the while, I had the feeling that it was a futile task. Hearing that you have had success in the past gives me hope. Please keep us posted on the new battle.

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    1. I will definitely! And from what I've read I wouldn't bother digging, repeated pulling should knock it back. Unless of course the soil is being frequently disturbed in which case UGH!

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    2. That's the kind of advice I like to hear. That digging is hard work.

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  14. OMG...Bindwed is THE WORST! I wish you luck in your battle.

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    1. Andrew has amazing stories of his father battling it in Nebraska. The sound a lot like your dad and the yucca.

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  15. We have the same problem Loree. Perhaps let it grow a bit more, even train it to climb a bamboo cane, then enclose it in plastic bag and spray glyphosate if that's available there.

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    1. Yikes! In your densely planted garden that must be a nightmare. At least here it's growing in the newly planted area where it's easier to spot.

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  16. I don't have much Bindweed here, but we've had to battle it at some of my volunteering sights. It is persistent! My problem here is Garlic Mustard, but at least it's easy to pull out by the roots. Good luck!

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    1. And at least doesn't the garlic mustard smell good while you're pulling it?

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  17. Bindweed is evil. The only thing other than Lysimachia that has made me consider round-up. I didn't cave. I am strong. Buzz off bindweed.

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    1. Lysimachia...guess who has that growing through one of her beds? And I was thinking sweet woodruff was the only thug I'd personally introduced into my garden...

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  18. I have an invasive vine I can't completely expunge either. I suppose I'll be battling it forever.

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  19. I'm so thankful that I've never had to deal with bindweed in my own garden (knock on wood) but I did pull it extensively (and exhaustively) when I worked at a nursery in high school. I commend you on your fortitude to fight this insidious vine for so long.

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