Field bindweed

About

Field bindweed is a twining perennial vine from Europe and Asia that is counted among the worst weeds in North America. Its roots run many feet deep and regrow from tiny pieces, so it can smother garden plants for years.

Also called small bindweed, lesser bindweed, common bindweed, wild morning glory

How to identify it

Look for

Look for arrowhead-shaped leaves about 1/2 to 2 inches long on thin stems that trail along the ground or twist around other plants. The white to pink trumpet flowers are about 1 inch across and close later each day. Seedlings have nearly square seed leaves with a shallow notch at the tip.

Look-alikes

Hedge bindweed has bigger leaves and flowers (1.5 to 3 inches) with two large green bracts hugging the flower base; field bindweed's bracts are tiny and don't cover the base of the flower. Garden morning glories (Ipomoea) have larger, often colorful flowers, heart-shaped leaves and thicker, often hairy stems.

Where it grows

Gardens, lawns, driveways, fence lines, orchards and farm fields, especially in sunny spots and heavy clay soil; it tolerates drought.

When

Shoots come up in spring from roots, and flowers open from about April through October.

How it spreads

Spreads by deep roots and rhizomes (root pieces as short as 2 inches regrow, and one plant can spread over 10 feet in a season) and by seeds that can stay alive in soil for 50 years or more.

Most common in

Where it is regulated

Listed as a noxious weed in Colorado (List C) and Washington (Class C).

What to do, gentlest first

Start at the top. Weed killers are a last step; always read and follow the label.

1. Stop it before it settles in Prevent

   Buy clean seed, soil and nursery plants, and pull seedlings in their first 3 to 4 weeks, before they form perennial roots. Never let vines flower and set seed.

2. Pull or hoe the shoots again and again By hand

   Pulling will not kill the deep roots in one go, but cutting shoots every week or two for several seasons starves them. Shade from trees and shrubs also weakens it.

   Don't till infested soil; it chops roots into many new plants.

3. Black plastic or landscape fabric Barrier

   Cover the patch with black plastic or tough landscape fabric, overlapping the edges so no stems escape. Expect to leave it 3 to 5 years for the roots to die.

   Check edges and planting holes; stems sneak through any gap.

4. Bindweed gall mite Natural enemies

   A tiny mite (Aceria malherbae) makes galls on new growth, stunting the vines and cutting flowering; Colorado sells releases through its Request-a-Bug program. It works slowly, over two to three years.

5. Systemic herbicide on growing vines Conventional spray

   Glyphosate spot-sprayed on actively growing vines in beds, or 2,4-D plus dicamba in lawns, moves down into roots; repeat treatments are needed. It takes 2 to 3 weeks to see results.

   Read and follow the label; many lawn and brush herbicides also kill garden plants. Keep glyphosate off the leaves of plants you want to keep.

Uses, wildlife and pets

Pets

Not listed by the ASPCA (its toxic morning glory listing covers Ipomoea, a different genus).