Morning Glory

[Angela MacLeod]

We are moving in this week to our place on Cherrywood. I worked in the garden for the first time this morning. There are the usual dandelion, and buttercup. I'm not overwhelmed by the thought of continually weeding them. There is a lot of morning glory coming up everywhere!!!! I know this one is hard to keep at bay or get rid of. I'm interested in any tips from experience about dealing with morning glory. I already know NOT to rototill . I'm willing to pull them up and to keep at it repeatedly. But I might have a limit of patience with that. I know some people use round up on it. I'm hoping to keep organic and not have to rely on herbicides. Any ideas?

[jasmin liepa]

well it depends on where they are..if you plan on having a garden, or annuals, then it will be easier to tame......I'm very experienced in that area.....dig and follow the roots carefully....their roots will travel under ground a long way to next spot......if they travel to grassy area not so bad as they will eventually poop out from moving and depriving them of sun, unless they can jump into a close bed.......sneaky buggers.......best time to kill with roundup is in fall...but i wouldn't go there......doesn't work real well anyway...just slows them down....have a party and invite people to go hunting for them.....actually it can be fun trying to see how long of a root you can dig up before it breaks.....I learned to shift my attitude after a couple of years....didn't enjoy the grumblies....keep at them as they will weaken.......

[Angela MacLeod]

Thanks for your input. I googled morning glory and found this about bindweed which they said is the same as morning glory.

"Vigilance and persistence are the two most useful weapons in your arsenal against bindweed. Watch for signs of this vine, and remove it as quickly as possible. The best way to get rid of bindweed is to cut it off at soil level. Don't bother pulling it up; it will just sprout wherever you tore the roots (and you will. It's impossible to get all of the roots out.) By continually cutting it off at ground level, and doing it as soon as you possibly can, you will eventually starve the plant (since it will be unable to photosynthesize) and it will die. Be patient! You will have to do this several times, but it will work.

I'm curious about this idea of cutting it off at ground level rather than digging out the roots. Maybe I'll try both.

[jasmin liepa]

I found in my vegie area i was able to get rid of the roots with persistence.....not so in other areas....but am vigilant about it not spreading any further than where it is....... good luck to you.....jasmin



Angela MacLeod said:

Thanks for your input. I googled morning glory and found this about bindweed which they said is the same as morning glory.

"Vigilance and persistence are the two most useful weapons in your arsenal against bindweed. Watch for signs of this vine, and remove it as quickly as possible. The best way to get rid of bindweed is to cut it off at soil level. Don't bother pulling it up; it will just sprout wherever you tore the roots (and you will. It's impossible to get all of the roots out.) By continually cutting it off at ground level, and doing it as soon as you possibly can, you will eventually starve the plant (since it will be unable to photosynthesize) and it will die. Be patient! You will have to do this several times, but it will work.

I'm curious about this idea of cutting it off at ground level rather than digging out the roots. Maybe I'll try both.

[Alicia Wills]

It comes into my yard from neighbors on two sides. For 7 years I have weeded it (and weeded and weeded and weeded) and it IS diminishing - but not gone. I did hear of a good idea re Roundup: Take a cottage cheese tub and cut a hole in the lid. Put Roundup in the tub and stick an end of the morning glory into the tub. Systemically kills the whole plant. I haven't tried this but it sounds like a very safe way to use Roundup. Good luck!

[christy in Bham]

I disagree with the web quote that says to cut it off at ground level. I find that doing so makes a thicker stronger root, just like with many other plants. The best way is to weed it out, be persistent. I did have a job where I was asked to use roundup bc my client was tired of paying me to weed the same area. Roundup tends to make a person stop weeding so does not dimish the problem. If you do decide to use roundup, it can be used responsibly. Don't spray! If you use it, either "paint" it on the cut root or use a dropper to pinpoint the cut tip of root. You must use the evil poison full strength and you must put it on the root within 5 minutes of cutting, and best on a hot sunny day. My neighbor has morning glory that originates under his house. The vine is literally growing underneath and through his siding. It is in these instances where roundup can be used responsibly. Having said all of that, Monsanto is pure evil and you should not buy a bottle of it. Find someone w a bottle and borrow a bit. Use your used tincture droppers and make sure to label! Another thing I have done is sheet mulch with a thick layer of cardboard, or put down plywood (i suppose plastic would work too) and the vines will float to the surface. Remove the cover and you'll have easier access to the vines. I currently have the job of removing morning glory from Brian H's property. Come have a look, it is VERY infested w morning glory and i plan on removing it within the year.

[Angela MacLeod]

Thanks Christy,
This is very helpful. I'd like to see what you are doing at Brian H's place. Give me a call with the location and I'll come over. What do you do with the morning glory that you pull out? I was told not to compost it. Do you put it in the SSC garbage for pick up? Can you put the part of the MG that is above ground, into your compost or do you have to get rid of all the plant?


christy nieto said:

I disagree with the web quote that says to cut it off at ground level. I find that doing so makes a thicker stronger root, just like with many other plants. The best way is to weed it out, be persistent. I did have a job where I was asked to use roundup bc my client was tired of paying me to weed the same area. Roundup tends to make a person stop weeding so does not dimish the problem. If you do decide to use roundup, it can be used responsibly. Don't spray! If you use it, either "paint" it on the cut root or use a dropper to pinpoint the cut tip of root. You must use the evil poison full strength and you must put it on the root within 5 minutes of cutting, and best on a hot sunny day. My neighbor has morning glory that originates under his house. The vine is literally growing underneath and through his siding. It is in these instances where roundup can be used responsibly. Having said all of that, Monsanto is pure evil and you should not buy a bottle of it. Find someone w a bottle and borrow a bit. Use your used tincture droppers and make sure to label! Another thing I have done is sheet mulch with a thick layer of cardboard, or put down plywood (i suppose plastic would work too) and the vines will float to the surface. Remove the cover and you'll have easier access to the vines. I currently have the job of removing morning glory from Brian H's property. Come have a look, it is VERY infested w morning glory and i plan on removing it within the year.

[christy in Bham]

Definitely don't put any of this in the compost. I make piles and if the piles are big enough I take them to clean green (in Brian's case his tenant was moving in and so I took them away with a bunch of other yard waste). The other options are to set the MG out on pavement in the sun. Once they are cooked/dried out you can put them in the compost (this makes me nervous so i haven't done this) or put them in a fire. I love burning invasive weeds. I come home with pocketfuls of ivy seedlings and stick these in the fire pit along with wild clematis I pick in on our property. The south side of the Birchwood neighborhood is infested with wild clematis, my nemesis. You should come over on an evening or on a weekend and we can walk down to Brian's.

Angela MacLeod said:

Thanks Christy,
This is very helpful. I'd like to see what you are doing at Brian H's place. Give me a call with the location and I'll come over. What do you do with the morning glory that you pull out? I was told not to compost it. Do you put it in the SSC garbage for pick up? Can you put the part of the MG that is above ground, into your compost or do you have to get rid of all the plant?


christy nieto said:

I disagree with the web quote that says to cut it off at ground level. I find that doing so makes a thicker stronger root, just like with many other plants. The best way is to weed it out, be persistent. I did have a job where I was asked to use roundup bc my client was tired of paying me to weed the same area. Roundup tends to make a person stop weeding so does not dimish the problem. If you do decide to use roundup, it can be used responsibly. Don't spray! If you use it, either "paint" it on the cut root or use a dropper to pinpoint the cut tip of root. You must use the evil poison full strength and you must put it on the root within 5 minutes of cutting, and best on a hot sunny day. My neighbor has morning glory that originates under his house. The vine is literally growing underneath and through his siding. It is in these instances where roundup can be used responsibly. Having said all of that, Monsanto is pure evil and you should not buy a bottle of it. Find someone w a bottle and borrow a bit. Use your used tincture droppers and make sure to label! Another thing I have done is sheet mulch with a thick layer of cardboard, or put down plywood (i suppose plastic would work too) and the vines will float to the surface. Remove the cover and you'll have easier access to the vines. I currently have the job of removing morning glory from Brian H's property. Come have a look, it is VERY infested w morning glory and i plan on removing it within the year.

[Angela MacLeod]

An update:

We've been in our new place for exactly 5 months. I have weeded morning glory (and many other weeds) a lot in the garden. For the first two months or so I was impressed with how much morning glory there was and how fast it grows. But I enjoy weeding so I just did it a lot. Once the soil was worked on it got easy to keep pulling it our. I had two approaches. If I didn't have the time or energy to be meticulous I'd just pull it with out worrying about the roots. I kept it separate and put it in the garbage. When I did have the time I got into carefully working as much of the root out as possible. It became a very interesting task. The roots pull out in long strands if carefully loosening the soil. I know i could never get every bit out but I just got what I could. It was interesting how the roots seem to be more so in denser soil and near boards (of the raised beds) almost as if the plant likes a challenge. Where ever I worked the soil the plant didn't return so vigorously. By mid summer there was very little morning glory where ever I was working. So I felt relieved that I am keeping it at bay and even greatly diminishing it in a lot of the veg. garden.

My attitude toward this plant has changed dramatically. I went from dread to respect. I even admire it's vitality. I found a book on the possitve qualities of a bunch of common weeds including bind weed/morning glory, even the medicinal value.....didn't buy it though.

A different story with the other pervasive weed in our garden: horsetail.....I know, the soil needs to be more alkaline....