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marlene_kindred

Does anyone else have this garden problem?

Marlene Kindred
14 years ago

I am being over run with some sort of wild morning glory vine! It appeared about two years ago and this stuff is really brutal! I've pulled and pulled the stuff up, but it travels by stolens (underground roots), so it has been next to impossible to get rid of it!! Any of you GJers have this nasty beast in your yard? Any suggestions for getting rid of it?

Comments (6)

  • leveta
    14 years ago

    Yep every yr in our garden...They are starting to come up now...We just pull them out or hoe them out...I wish everything else grew that good...

  • desertrat1
    14 years ago

    Marlene,

    Does your vine produce white flowers? IT could be bindweed. I've had that in my dogs yard and it does take over, cover other plants and chokes them to death. I just kept putting Round up on them everytime I foudn them and that seems to do the trick. BUT too I don;t have any plants growing over in her yard so control is easier. Maybe someone else has a good solution. Now, if anyone knows a cure for Yellow Nutsedge I'd love to hear it. That ones grows in with my border plants. .....

    Love, Jules

  • Marlene Kindred
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I think that must be it Jules~

    It does have a white flower and it chokes everything it can get on.....pesky devil!!

  • tennesseetrash
    14 years ago

    We had morning glories that self-sowed every year at our former home. They were a constant aggravation. Wrapped around and choked anything they could get near. Hoeing them when very young has been the best method for us.

    They're really pretty vines, but best left in containers if you don't want them to take over your garden, from my personal experience.

    Rots of Ruck LOL ~ tenderlee

  • nmgirl
    14 years ago

    If what you have is bindweed the worst thing you can do is pull it. Pulling it and breaking the roots actually stimulates the plant to grow more rapidly.
    You can get rid of it but it will take you a while. The idea is to weaken and exhaust the root so much that the plant dies.
    First of all, stop pulling it! You need to mow/weed whack/shear it to force it to keep putting out new growth. You want to keep it in the active growth phase and not let it get to the flowering or seed setting life stage. With continuous cutting the plant will/might start to grow extremely flat, it will hug the ground.
    At this point you'll need to switch to chemical warfare. Start spraying it with an herbicide containing glyphosate, i.e. Roundup and things like that. It need to be an herbicide that kills the root. Unfortunately if the bindweed has invaded a flower bed, you will have collateral damage. Shield the innocent as best you can. Don't try lifting plants to save them from the herbicide. If you get even the tiniest portion of a bindweed root you will spread it.
    While doing all this never let the plant flower even if you have to hand pick the blooms! Try to keep mowing/shearing it whenever possible. Watch for new plants trying to emerge away from the parent plant too.
    Keep after this mowing/cutting/herbicide routine until the plant freezes back this winter. Watch for new growth next year. You might have to do this routine for several years because of seed drop from previous ones. Even after the plants are gone you'll need to always be on guard for the stuff, it's a real pain.
    Good luck!

  • Marlene Kindred
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    WOW! Thanks Sylvia....I've been going about it all wrong then...I've been pulling it up as much as possible, but trying to get the root too.....OK....where's my military gear...this sounds like war!!!

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