Oh no! Is this bindweed?!

Evening all,

I saw this creepy thing in my garden a few days ago.

As we only moved in in Feb, I'm not sure what's meant to be here and what's not meant to be here. I'm a little suspicious this one ISN'T meant to be here... does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

It is indeed Bindweed, get the weedkiller out.

 

Oooh yes, it is, vile stuff. Definitely tackle it with weedkiller (Round-up or similar) while its small.

 

Forget Roundup, you are just paying for the name. Go to your nearest Wilkos and buy some Glyphosate for half the price.

 

Be aware don't try and pull it out because bindweed is a slippery customer becuase every time you break the root in half you get a new weed and so forth i spent nearly 2 days clearing my beds of the stuff and i'm still getting it come up.

 

That`s why I suggested the Glyphosate option, John.

 

D'oh! I didn't know that! I am such a Brand name bunny!

 

Rose, a litre of straight Roundup ( glyphosate ) about £16. A litre of Wilkinsons Glyphosate £10.

 

I like that, I like that a lot!

Thanks for the tip

 

When it comes to gardening check out Wilkos first.

 

Oh noes! It IS bindweed!! I'm super glad I asked as I'd probably just have left it and thought 'what a nice creepy thing, it's doing so well...'

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on getting rid of the stuff. I think I'll give the Glyphosphate a go as the bindweed is right at the roots of an apple tree so I think I'd have a job getting it all out. And also we dug over the area for planting new plants recently, so I probably chopped loads of the stuff up anyway so I expect there'll be loads popping up :(

...thanks for the tip on avoiding the brand-name mark-up!

Will come back with an update!

 

Definitely bindweed, and it is a real fighter. You need to start tackling it asap. Another month and it will be away like mad.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with the advice about digging it out. ANY piece of root left behind, even a tiny piece, will simply spawn a new plant. Don't try to pull it out while its small either, all that will happen is you'll get two or three new shoots for every one you pull out.

You will need a plentiful supply of glyphosate based weedkiller. I recommend Roundup. Ok, its a bit pricey, but I've tried a number of different brands and found roundup to be most effective. To save money, because you may need more than one spray bottle full over the next few months, you could get one spray bottle of the ready mixed stuff, and a small bottle of Roundup concentrate that you mix with water to refill your spray bottle.

Don't do anything to physically damage the plants. They have to be actively growing for glyphosate to work. Even water them if the ground gets to dry. Water in the evening (in dry weather) and spray with roundup the following morning, ie so that the plant is well watered, but watering doesn't rinse off the roundup. This way, the microscopic pores in the plant's leaves that they use for breathing in CO2 during the day will be open (they close as a defense mechanism if the plant is dehydrating), and that's the route in for the glyphosate. Spraying in the morning means that glyphosate sits on the foliage for hours for the plant to metabolise it, whereas if you spray in the evening then the plants will be in a much less active state and therefore absorb less glyphosate.

Spray at least twice per week. The label probably says once per week, but don't believe it. Twice is the minimum. You need to keep up the pressure on this persistent enemy.

You will also need to hunt it down. If you don't get it all, it will quickly recolonise your garden. Look behind sheds and among long grass, under fence panels etc, zapping it on sight. If it appears to be invading from a neighbour's, have a word with the neighbour to see if you can attack it on their patch too.

Expect it to come back for a while even after you think you've won. If it's been there a while, it will have set seed in previous years. Those seeds will be in your soil, and glyphosate doesn't affect seeds. Keeping the ground watered will help them to germinate, which is what you want because then you can find them and zap them.

Don't plant anything straight into the ground in that patch for at least a few months. Even with a carefully targeted attack, there is always collateral damage, and glyphosate is indiscrimate. Also bindweed has a terrible tendence to send shoots up straight through the roots of your good plants, so that the chances of getting it while its small without getting your good plants is slim.

Good luck. I've fought it and won (at my last house), and for the past couple of weeks have been fighting again at my new house. It is a tough battle, but it can be done. Bindweed is persistent and determined, so to beat it you have to be more persistent and more determined.

 

I've just remembered a tip from my mother who had bindweed in her gorgeous old beech hedges. Whenever she found a tendril of bindweed which was a bit too close to the hedge to spray with weedkiller, she use to wind it round a long bamboo pole. Once there was enough of the vine to pull clear from the hedge (while still leaving it attached at the roots) she'd lay it on the driveway or a piece of heavy duty impermeable plastic to protect the grass and other plants and spray it with the weed killer.