by Kathy Davie
In my walks I’ve been noticing that a number of gardeners are struggling with bindweed and I thought I’d pass on my sure-fire “cure” for this admittedly pretty but frustrating and extremely prolific plant.
Also known as field bindweed, perennial (no kidding!) morning glory, it’s Latin name is Convolvulus arvensis.
You need four things to kill bindweed:
- Twist ties (like the ones on bread wrappers)
- Plastic baggies or produce bags without holes
- Round-Up
- And, patience
The Process
- Gather up as much of a single bindweed plant as possible and stuff it inside the plastic bag
- Spray three to four squirts of Round-Up inside the bag
- Squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag and wrap that twist tie to keep the air out—and the bindweed in
- Joyfully massage that Round-Up onto as much of the plant as you can
- Leave it alone
I’m serious. Wait about a week and check to see how brown that green plant has become. This is the hardest part. I know how badly you want to rip that baggie out of your sight along with that invasive weed. If you want your efforts to bear fruit…hmmmm…that sounds wrong, doesn’t it. We no longer want that fruit bearing anything!
Give it time to die completely. Then you can harvest your baggies and never have that particular morning glory return!