Hello! I am looking for some insight into managing my front yard.
Last year we covered the front yard in cardboard and mulch. Unfortunately we now have an aggressive bindweed running havoc. It is growing under the cardboard, peaking out where parts of the cardboard has degraded, and spreading through the mulch. So much so, the neighborhood bunny stops by to enjoy the lush greenery every now and then.
I’ve been hand pulling, but every time I finish the whole area (it takes a number of weekends) it has already grown back where I started.
I have small native and drought tolerant plants throughout the mulch, which the bindweed has been trying to climb. Everything is very small as it was just planted a couple months ago.
Any suggestions for how to handle this invasion? I would prefer natural ways to not affect the other plants, but I’m very desperate at the moment.
Thanks in advance!
by misty_magpie
16 Comments
Located in Washington State, 6b.
Best of luck to you. Maybe that rabbit likes it. Otherwise, just keep pulling it up and frying it in the sun or something before disposing of it. You could spend all you time on this. I wish I had better news. Hopefully someone else has a better idea!
I’ve been in my house for 6 years, still pulling bindweed, but if you’re persistent it will be more manageable in the future
This is how I feel looking at your photo. I’m sorry I cannot help with the bindweed, though. I’m up to my teeth in couch grass and creeping Charlie, so I empathize.
That is a domesticated rabbit who should not be living freely outside 😬
I relate 100%. I have found some success digging down at least 1 full spade shovel, but it has not made it completely disappear… it has me ready to throw in the towel tbh… 1 side of my garden is covered in creaping charlie. The other side has bindweed, bunnies in the middle, eating everything and laughing at me
I don’t have experience with this weed but have you considered solarizing? That’s when you cover your lawn with a plastic sheet during the summer to cook the soil and kill all the plants.
I am also fighting the bindweed battle. It’s dormant in some areas of my yard (bindweed never dies) and I use different approaches. If it’s single stems of bindweed, I pull it carefully and will get part of the root. If it’s tangled in something or in a mass, I cut as close to the ground as I can, and gently remove the vine. The theory is to deprive the plant of sunlight. Sometimes I dig under the mass with a small garden tool, and then carefully remove the vines. If there are flowers, cut those off ASAP even if you don’t have time to go after the plant. I only pull hard on the vines if I can’t get at them, or I’m just frustrated. I read that pulling on the vines signals them to grow faster, but in some areas, they’ve not come back. I spend a lot of time on bindweed! It comes back, sometimes in new areas, but I have made some progress.
Colorado has a program where they ship you a mite that will only eat bindweed. I just applied mine this year. It was free except for shipping. It won’t eradicate the bindweed but it will manage.
I’ve seen pictures on Reddit of bindweed’s root system, and, frankly, it’s scary.
I hand pull bindweed when I see it, but I am also under no illusion that I’ll ever be bindweed free without the use of glyphosate. I don’t use man-made chemicals in my garden, but I *have* been sorely tempted to try the dip method for bindweed.
Good luck!
Pulling it all summer did seem to make it less robust by the end of the season, but it’s definitely a long game. I’ve also tried the boiling water trick for spots where it was away from my new plantings and that did help. Hang in there OP, you’re definitely not alone!
Spot treat with glyphosate and quarantine with a plastic bag where it pops up is the only method that has worked for me. Utah Zone 7b
Bindweed victim here in eastern WA checking in too. Ive been going out every morning with my coffee and pulling as many sprouts I can before I have to sign in for work. This is my first year in this house so im hoping if i stick with it, it will get better year over year
As a resident of the r/rabbits sub, that is a domestic rabbit and really needs to be brought into a house for survival…
more rabbits? seriously I don’t know of a solution.
https://preview.redd.it/yx87wd7o1f7f1.png?width=1170&format=png&auto=webp&s=0e4e964dd4ec34896eef858ad0fb75e8d6eb27e3
Imtveint avsolerved