If you’re an avid gardener, you’ve probably tried to tackle a lot of bindweed in your time. After all, it’s something that can often get in the way.
Bindweed, though beneficial to wildlife, can also cause other problems in the garden. This is because it spreads quickly underground via a network of white roots and creates long trailing stems that twine around anything they come into contact with, including plant stems.
If not controlled they can actually smother and choke other small plants nearby. This is why some people try their best to get rid of it.
Gardening expert Ish, known as gardening.with.ish on TikTok, said it’s something he often has to battle with, but he does something simple to try and rid it. Often, when you pull it away, you just seem to just find more of it.
However, according to Ish, there’s a simple way you can get things under control. You just have to complete a simple task.
Ish said: “Now, they always say the most simple method is the best method, and unforunately it’s also the most hard-working method, and that is to dig it up. All you want to do is push down, trying as best as you can to not break the roots, and dig it up nice and carefully.
“Even if you leave a tiny bit of root in there, you’re going to get more bindweed, and it can bury quite deep. So just keep on it persistently, especially when it’s young. As you’re starving it with light over time it should finish it off, but it’s not a quick game.”
He also offered another method for ridding bindweed, even though he doesn’t generally recommend people do it. Despite this, he said people often try the technique, so he wanted people to know how to do it safely.
Ish said some people use a control spray, but you shouldn’t spray it on your plants in case it spreads elsewhere. Instead, he said the best thing to do is surround the weed with a bag, and then spray the solution in there.
If you seal it up you’ll then trap the dangerous chemicals inside with the weed, and this will feed down the stem towards the root. This method will prevent damage to your other plants.
No matter what you do, Ish said bindweed is likely to come back at some point, but following his tips should help you to get it under control. He noted completing the simple task should “stop it invading” your garden.
What is bindweed?
For those who don’t know bindweed is a creeping, perennial weed, which is also known as wild morning glory. It can become a regular problem in gardens.
It’s known to have thin, twining stems and trumpet-shaped flowers, which are usually white or pink. It can be very problematic for some, as it can smother and kill other plants, and its roots are able to grow very deep, which make it tough to get rid of.
Some say the best way to aid the issue is to snip it at soil level. If you pull up the weed, sometimes it can often just sprout back.
Due to its resilience, some experts also say the key is to continue cutting it at ground level. Eventually, this process should starve the weed as it’ll be unable to photosynthesize.