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• PRO

  Phil Voice June 17, 2008 at 7:04pm

  Hi Darren
  
  I am sure that you are aware that Bindweed Convolvulus arvensis is a tricky weed to eradicate.
  
  Digging the roots out, especially in established herbaceous borders or shrub beds is a hopeless task and any small chunk of the succulent white Rhizomatous root that is left behind will develop into a new plant.
  
  If you are persistent enough it might be possible to retard the plant but deep roots usually mean it will not be long before new shoots appear.
  
  The RHS offers some good advice and I concur that Glyphosate is really the only effective means of control.
  
  Even applying weed killer needs patience and wiping the weed leaf with a concentrate or 50/50 dilution will eventually be effective as the active ingredient is translocated to the root.
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  Richard Loader June 17, 2008 at 9:49pm

  In my garden Bindweed is a real problem and Glyphosate seems the only effective method of control. To keep it simple we (Sue and myself) remove all all plants from problem beds and keep the bed empty for a whole growing season - just spraying the BW when it shows up - that means spraying about five times. The result is a bed free of BW in the following year.
  My method might not be practical in most landscaper situations but it does work and might be OK for an understanding customer.
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  Andrew Fereday June 17, 2008 at 10:10pm

  Hmmm, the only other remedy that I have heard comes from gardeners question time and takes a lot longer to effect - what you do is take out all of the plants in the infected spot and turn the area over to lawn. You then need to mow religiously every week to keep the bindweed down. Over a few seasons (possibly as many as four!) the roots will have been weakened so much with the mowing that the plant will die.
  
  The main concern with treating with glyphosate is splash or spray drift onto other plants in the vicinity but it does work reasonably quickly (that is, within a year!)
• PRO

  Phil Voice June 17, 2008 at 10:12pm

  A good remedy if you have Bindweed in an open area (say a large veg patch) is to introduce pigs to the area to seek out the succulent roots.
• PRO

  Phil Voice June 17, 2008 at 10:23pm

  But the Pigs do do the digging as well :)
• PRO

  Mike Seaton June 18, 2008 at 11:42am

  Try the Glove of Death! Get an approved pesticide glove or unlined glove over your hand, place an old wollen glove over the protective glove, spray an approved diluted Glyphosate based product over the woolen glove, but not to run off, then literally 'wipe' the Bindweed like you were stroking it and this way you can control any non woody weeds without damaging desirable plants. Good for controlling grasses sticking through heather etc and similiar problems with weeds and grasses that need controlling where chemical overspray or run off will cause a problem.
  
  Do not over fill the woolen mitt otherwise it will drip. Top up as required and dispose of woolen mitt safely. This is not an approved method of weed control but a very practical methodology if you know what you should be doing...
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  Classic Gardens June 18, 2008 at 7:05pm

  Move house or tell your customer to move :)
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  Lara Warner June 19, 2008 at 3:00pm

  I have had a chat with our friendly Avoncrop rep and they have recommended a product called React which they stock for £70.00 plus VAT and delivery for 5 litres.
  
  You need to be PA1/PA6 registered to apply the product. It should not harm the lawn or any perennials nearby though!
  
  We have registered sprayers here if you were needing a contractor. We are not too far from you as we are based in Bracknell.
  
  Avoncrops advice was to get the chemical on asap as leaving the problem is not an option. They agreed glyphosate would work but the dicamber in the React is a better product for bindweed.
  
  Regards,
  
  
  Lara, Warner Grounds
• PRO

  Mike Seaton June 20, 2008 at 9:39am

  Lara
  
  Your comment re 'React' which has Dicamba in it - this active ingredient is an active for Selective Weed Control. It will kill woody type weeds in your lawn like Plantains etc. It will also kill some Perennials! Avoncrop should have known better. If you doubt, I am BASIS Registered too and spent over 8 years selling turf care products and have a commercial weed control company...
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  steve loftus July 23, 2008 at 2:02am

  granular weedkiller such as casoron g or osorno,kerb granules. these are residual weedkillers that are none selective,but great for use around hardwood plants,hoe and clear as much weed as you can,then apply the granules.we get around 4 months plus out of osorno in rosebeds,great stuff.......but if you do need to hoe that surface again,i advise another dose,as the "barrier" has been eradicated.good luck.