Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) is a herbaceous plant (dies down each winter) that has white (sometimes pink flowers) and white fleshy roots, that is often seen in areas of waste ground and on neglected allotment sites.
Because of the nature of it's growth, twining its way through shrubs and bushes, it is quite hard to kill with chemical weedkillers without causing damage to the plants we want to keep.
However given persistence and patience it is possible to remove it without the use of chemicals.
Physical control of Bindweed During the winter months carefully dig out as much of the white fleshy roots as possible, any little bit left in the ground will result in a new bindweed plant.
However any new plants that appear in the spring can be gently pulled out by hand bringing the root system with the plant.
A weekly pulling session will keep the growth under control and will eventually lead to the root system dying from lack of food that is normally supplied by the leaf system.
If you have bindweed growing in your borders where it is not possible to dig the roots out during the winter it is still possible to remove it by hand as above it will just take a bit more persistence on your part.
If the bindweed is growing into your garden from a neighbouring garden the weekly pulling sessions will help to stop it spreading into your garden.
An additional trick is to grow The Mexican Marigold (Tagetes minuta) along the border as the roots of this plant give off a chemical which has an inhibiting effect on the bindweed.
Chemical control of Bindweed The majority of attempts to kill bindweed with weedkillers fail in the main due to the way the weedkiller is applied by spray.
Glyphosate is the best weed killer to use and is sold under a variety of names, however this needs to applied to the leaves when the bindweed is in strong growth and will in most cases take three or four application during the year to kill off the bindweed.
Once you have sprayed the bindweed leave it for at least three weeks to give the Glyphosate time to get down to the roots and do its work there.
Then it is possible to pull the wretched weed out.
There are several tricks used to try and avoid getting the spray onto your valuable plants, using cardboard sheets to protect the foliage is one method but wherever possible I prefer to unravel the bindweed and lie it on the ground to spray as this gives the best chance of getting the spray onto both sides of the leaves.
What do you do if the bindweed is well and truly entwined around your valuable plants? The only chemical answer is to use Glyphosate gel and paint in onto the individual leaves, which can be a slow process but is safer for your plants.
What ever you do, do not use Glyphosate on a windy day or when rain is due in the next 6 hours or so.