6 Essential Tips for Getting Rid of Bindweed Before It Takes Over Your Garden

One of the most aggressive garden invaders, bindweed rapidly rambles through perennials and shrubs, creating a leafy tangle of stems and foliage. It scrambles up trees and engulfs vegetable gardens. Bindweed also has been wreaking havoc in crop fields across North America for hundreds of years.

Despite its trumpet-shaped flowers, there is nothing pretty about bindweed; this invasive species is frustratingly difficult to get rid of. A bindweed-free landscape requires persistence but winning the battle against bindweed, often over several years, is worth it. Use this guide to get rid of bindweed in your yard for good.

What Is Bindweed?

There are two types of bindweed, field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) and hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium). Both are perennials in the morning glory family and look similar except that hedge bindweed has larger leaves and flowers than field bindweed.

The triangular leaves and twining stems of the plant die back to the ground in fall and regrow from the root system in spring. Bindweed grows in full sun or shade and all types of soil. Seedlings grow quickly, forming dense mats of foliage. The plant scrambles across the ground until it finds a plant or structure to climb. It grows so vigorously that it significantly stunts the growth of every plant it climbs.

As impressive as its aboveground growth is, its underground root network is even more extensive. The roots of one plant extend horizontally 10 to 18 feet in the top 1 to 2 feet of soil and reach up to 20 feet deep into the soil. Bindweed spreads by both seed and underground roots. Even a 1-inch piece of root left in the soil can produce a new plant and seeds remain viable in the soil for decades.

Tips for Getting Rid of Bindweed

Fighting bindweed typically requires dedication and several years of effort.

1. Pull Everything You See

Pulling as much bindweed as possible. The best time to do this is shortly after a rain when the soil is softer so it is easy to pull the plants with its stems, leaves, and as much of the root system from the wet soil. Dispose of the pulled plants in the trash.

Because bindweed twines around plants so tightly, it is often hard to remove the bindweed without harming the plant it is climbing. To prevent damaging valuable plants, cut the bindweed stem near its base and pull as much of the root system out of the ground as possible. Leave the severed stem and leaves in place; they will soon wilt and turn brown.

2. Dig Up Roots

Eradicating bindweed includes eradicating its vast root system. It is imperative to remove as much of the root system as possible. A new plant can grow from a 1-inch-long root fragment buried more than 10 feet deep.

Use a garden fork to lift the soil and remove root fragments. Digging up bindweed is not a one-time event. Commit to 3 to 5 years of repetitive digging every two to three weeks wherever you find it popping up.

3. Scan for New Plants Weekly

Bindweed readily sprouts from seed or underground roots from spring through fall. Go on bindweed patrols weekly to eliminate young plants before they have a chance to overtake flowering plants and shrubs. Be sure to look under plant canopies where small bindweeds might lurk.

A weekly bindweed scan might feel excessive, but this noxious weed grows so vigorously that it will overtake a garden in short order. A weekly inspection schedule is key to getting ahead of bindweed.

4. Use a Pre-Emergent Herbicide

A pre-emergent weed killer prevents germinated weed seedlings from becoming established. It is best reserved for dense infestations of bindweed. The correct timing is key. Bindweed seeds germinate when the soil temperature is above 40°F. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide over the impacted area in early spring, after the seeds have germinated.

As most pre-emergent herbicides will also prevent the seeds of desirable plants, such as vegetable or cutting flowers, from growing, use the product with caution.

5. Use a Post-Emergent Herbicide

The most effective herbicides to use on bindweed plants (post-emergent herbicides) are non-selective—they kill everything they touch. If you spray a non-selective herbicide, such as glyphosate, on bindweed, it will kill the weed as well as the plant it is encircling.

The most effective time to control bindweed with a non-selective herbicide is when the plant is in flower. Keep in mind, though, that non-selective herbicides easily drift to nearby desirable plants, making it a risky control method in a bindweed-infested garden or landscape bed.

6. Be Persistent

A long-term commitment is essential to winning the bindweed battle. Be diligent in scanning for seedlings and pull the plants as soon as you spot them.

Missing as little as three weeks of bindweed monitoring may result in a renewed infestation and render all your previous hard work void.