Bindweed

[malana-3]

My garden is infested with a weed from my neighbours garden. It comes up from underground runners and sends up tendrils which climb every shrub, plant and tree. Is this bindweed and how can I kill it off without poisoning all my other plants?

[coccinelle]

Bindweed is very difficult to get rid of as if you leave the tiniest bit of root in the ground a tendril shoots up. It takes patience as each weed needs to be treated with weedkiller without it touching the other plants; try to untangle it from bushes and higher plants and lay it on the bare soil then spray. You'll probably have to retreat it in a couple of weeks but leave it as if it hasn't killed it right down to the tip of the roots it'll grow again. There is the good side though, it does produce lovely flowers!!

[Lonnie]

The best way, but you'll need patience, is to stick canes in the ground, the Bindweed is a vine, and it'll climb those if you train them round the canes, when the weed is abobe the plants, paint the leaves with a good weed killer, that will go down to the roots.

I got this from Kew Gardens some years ago, and it works,

[davenclaire]

the same as above (or below answers) but in the weedkiller add a small amount of either engine oil or petrol to bind the weedkiller to the leaves

[foxyferret]

try letting it grow up the cane or along the ground, put the growth into a plastic bag without digging the weed out, spray with your choses weed killer then do the bag up with say an elastic band. This will prevent you killing off plants you want to keep.

[malana-3]

Thank you all for your practical answers, much appreciated

[catterick]

in a previous garden i inadvertantly found that all bindweed in the lawn was completely killed off by moss killer!! Not one piece reoccurred!

[tamborine]

wear rubber gloves - as sap gives rash - and pull & burn before it flowers & drops more seeds.