Any way to kill of this vine? It's invading!

Discussion in 'Gardening Discussions' started by Temmy, Jun 9, 2021.

  1. Temmy

    Temmy Gardener

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    Hello folks,

    The property behind ours doesn't have a garden, rather, it has a wild jungle

    [​IMG]

    Every plant in it seems to be wrapped up with this vine (no idea what it is, bonus points if you can identify it. I'd love to know!)

    [​IMG]

    It's started to appear through the ground in my garden. Is there any treatment or killer that will target it, or do I just have to keep ripping it up whenever it gets too bold?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Palustris

    Palustris Total Gardener

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    that is the dreaded Bindweed. Sadly weed killer is the only way to deal with it. And if it is coming from another property you are on a no win situation. Unless you can persuade the owners to do something about it.
     
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    • Temmy

      Temmy Gardener

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      Unfortunately not. The gentlemen who lives there is in his 80s and long since abandoned caring for his garden. Is there any particular weed killer which is good for it?
       
    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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      Any weedkiller with glyphosate as the active ingredient will kill bindweed down to the roots, it will also kill anything else in the vicinity, it would require several applications to eradicate. You will need permission to spray someone else's garden, if the spray drifted across into another neighbour's you will be liable.

      It would be safer to arrange a professional to come and do the job with the old gent's agreement.
       
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      • JWK

        JWK Gardener Staff Member

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        Sorry just read this bit, you can of course do as you please on your side, trouble is it will still keep creeping back in, the roots go down a long way.
         
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        • Black Dog

          Black Dog Gardener of useful things

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          I have the same type of weed in my garden. It is a pain to deal with, but you can dig up the succulent roots and leave them in the sun to dry.
          Took me a year of almost daily checks to always remove anything that came up and now I am down by 90%. The last ones are hard to reach but luckily the leaves are easy to spot so they get plucked as soon as they show. If they invade from your neighbors garden though, there isn't a lot you can fix except build a barrier against the roots.
           
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          • pete

            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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            Looking at it from the other side of the fence :biggrin:
            Your neighbour could suggest that it's coming from your side, unfortunately plant roots don't respect fences and bindweed is like an iceberg in that there is more under the surface than you can see growing.
            Best bet in my mind is to get some strings or removable frame work and let it grow up it.
            When you get some good growth spray it with glyphosate.
            You need a large amount of leaf to soak up the chemical.
            I wouldn't try spraying on the other side of the fence with out permission.
             
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            • CarolineL

              CarolineL Total Gardener

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              I had a similar problem with neighbours who were nice but just weren't interested in gardening. I tried doing what @pete said to get a large amount of foliage in a controlled area, and then used cloth gloves (with rubber gloves inside to protect my hands) to rub the glyphosate liquid over the bindweed leaves. It reduced the amount that got onto adjacent plants compared to spraying.
               
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              • Aldo

                Aldo Super Gardener

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                I do not have any good advice, beyond what already suggested, but I wish you best of luck.
                Our garden is overrun with the blessed thing and I spend quite a bit of time every year getting rid of it.
                My child was always fascinated and vaguely afraid of it, he calls it "the strangulator", which is a pretty fitting name if you ask me.

                I often thought that it would make for a good baddie in some videogame, just an idea :)
                 
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                • DevonPhil

                  DevonPhil Gardener

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                  We discovered we had this offending weed only a few weeks ago. So far I have just been pulling each vine out from ground level, but aware they will return. I had been thinking about weedkiller, but didn't realise as @JWK said:
                  To prevent overspraying onto other plants, I'm sure I read somewhere that it's possible to spray weedkiller into a plastic bag, place over the foliage and tie with an elastic band. That this would put the leaves in direct contact with the weedkiller to help kill off the Bindweed…

                  Is this a thing or a fruitless idea?
                   
                • pete

                  pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                  Regarding bind weed, I've never managed to eradicate it as it is mostly amongst plants I want to keep.
                  In theory you could set aside an area, let it grow like crazy for a couple of months and then hit it with glyphosate.
                  But you would probably need to give it another treatment to totally wipe it out.
                  I just live with it, just a matter of keeping it to acceptable levels IMO.
                   
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                  • JWK

                    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                    I've used these roundup gel sticks
                    upload_2021-6-11_19-29-17.png

                    They are not cheap but are good for killing pernicious weeds amongst precious plants. You still need to be very careful with it as some plants keel over and die at the slightest whiff of glyphosate.
                     
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                    • flounder

                      flounder Super Gardener

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                      Bean sticks placed strategically around the overrun areas. Mix up glyphosate in a bucket. Put a sock on your hand, dip hand with sock in the bucket wringing it out so no drippage, run your hand up the bean stick....which has calystegia sepium growing up it....don't be afraid to squeeze so you break the leaves a bit, repeat weekly for twenty years.
                      For those who will say "don't get weed killer on your skin" just don't bite your nails or lick your hands until you've thoroughly washed
                       
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                      • noisette47

                        noisette47 Total Gardener

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                        Another approach which works well where no animals or children are likely to get curious.... Jam jars quarter-filled with glyphosate solution then stuffed with as much stem and foliage as will reach. Leave for a couple of weeks by which time the roots will be dead. Lessens the chance of accidental damage to treasured plants.
                         
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                        • shiney

                          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                          I've never eradicated it after almost 50 years in this garden but have it, more or less, under control. I don't let it worry me but do a regular bindweed patrol once a week during the growing season and just pull it out.

                          A little trick when pulling:- don't do it in anger but keep calm, grip it gently between thumb and forefinger where it meets the ground and pull upwards slowly. That way you can usually get some of the root out as well. I find it can generally remove anything from 1" - 3" of root. If you pull it in anger it just snaps off.
                           
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