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Battling bindweed big job

Bindweed, with its trademark small flowers and heart-shaped leaves, almost defies control once the weed is established in your garden. (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Pat Munts Correspondent
Bindweed, with its trademark small flowers and heart-shaped leaves, almost defies control once the weed is established in your garden. (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

My 40-by-100-foot garden is infested with bindweed. Is there any way of controlling it without destroying the whole garden? Thank you.

Eleanor H.

Bindweed is one of those weeds that almost defy control. First, the stems you see are generated by an enormous root system that goes very deep in the soil. That means those stems have lots of energy behind them.

Second, the stems regenerate from any piece of broken stem or root. This means that tilling the garden merely spreads the broken roots and stems all over the garden.

Thirdly, the plant also spreads by rhizomes which send up stems from underground buds.

Lastly, each of the white flowers can produce 500 seeds that are viable for about 50 years. And no, I’m not kidding.

Controlling bindweed is an exercise in persistence, actually several years’ worth of persistence. One problem is that even herbicides (if you want to use chemicals) registered for this plant are not reliably effective.

Here is my best advice: For the rest of the garden season, remove any flowers from the plant before they can go to seed. This may be a large job but it will slow the plant down.

Mulch as much open space in the garden as is possible using grass clippings, leaves, shredded pine needles or straw (not hay). As you remove harvest and remove crops, plant a good cover crop like buckwheat to create shade which bindweed doesn’t like.

Early this fall, once the garden is completely finished, plant a mixture of annual rye and vetch to create a cover crop for the winter. Next spring, lay down weed fabric (this is one good use of the stuff) between the garden rows and mulch on top of it with three to four inches of mulch as early as possible.

After the garden plants have come up, mulch them well with grass clippings, shredded pine needles or straw. Renew the mulch through the summer. Pull any bindweed as soon as it appears and remulch that area. Repeat for as long as it takes to get rid of the stuff – you’re probably in for a big job.

Watering old trees

Do mature trees need to be watered during the summer? If so, how much do you recommend for 50- to 70-year-old maples?

R.L., North Idaho

All plants need water no matter how large or small they are. Large trees do have the advantage of having root systems that can get to moisture deeper in the ground than other plants. On the other hand, large trees also use a lot more water than smaller plants.

In our climate most trees benefit from a deep soaking periodically during July, August and September. Give trees a deep soaking by letting a soaker hose run overnight around the drip line of your tree every couple of weeks. Lawn sprinklers will not provide enough water because they are usually not set to run long enough to put enough water deep in the ground.