Bindweed is a notorious garden weed that can be detrimental to the lives of other plants, and the simplest method is the best for stopping it growing back, according to a gardening expert.
How to get rid of bindweed
Bindweed can be identified by its long twining stem and large white trumpet-shaped flowers. It can grow to form a large mass of foliage, choking garden plants, reducing their growth or killing smaller plants entirely. Its extensive roots make it difficult to remove, and if all the weed is not removed, it will keep coming back.
Gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish recently revealed his go-to method for reducing the size of the weed, explaining that the best method is the simplest: digging up the bindweed roots. He said: “Bindweed has become this notorious problem in my garden for the last few years, and despite all of the tips and tricks that I’ve been testing and trying, every year it still comes back just as vigorous. But it’s being reduced even more every year.”
Starving the weed of light
Digging up the roots helps to weaken them and prevents the weed from growing back as wild. Ish said: “The thing is with bindweed, if you keep pulling it from the ground, you’re slowly weakening it. It’s not getting the sunlight it needs and nutrition, and as a result, it will start to die down.”
Another helpful tip Ish recommends is to starve the weed of light by planting plants and flowers with dense foliage around it. He uses salvias and penstemons. These dense plants stop sunlight reaching the ground, starving the bindweed and reducing it in size over time.
Further advice
The Royal Horticultural Society explained that bindweed competes with other plants for moisture, nutrients, space and light. If not removed, the weed’s stem can smother other plants due to its deep, extensive roots. Ish added: “Another thing to look out for is bindweed that’s flowering, because this is actually when it’s at its most vulnerable. It’s put all its energy into this flower, it’s not really focusing on the growth, so when you really put that up, you actually stress it out massively which slows it down a little more.”
He concluded: “So the real trick to getting rid of bindweed is starving it of light and constantly, constantly getting on top of it. It feels laborious, and you may have to do it once a week, but it’ll be worth it in the end.”
The RHS also recommended deadheading the weed before it produces seeds; forking out any seeds, which most likely appear in spring and autumn; or lifting border plants, clearing the ground and replanting. If using a weed killer, Ish previously advised using a natural-based solution made of water, salt and white vinegar, which dehydrates the plant but does not kill the root.
