Re: Morning Glory -Convolvulus arvensis

Bob Beer wrote:
> 
> The genus has been changed to Calystegia now.  I've seen it referred to as
> "Hedge Bindweed."  I prefer "antichrist"...  

Bob 
This is just to endorse everything you have said about it. It may
interest you to know the old English country name is Devil's Guts!!

As to David's suggestion that it doesn't root down, on the contrary I
have seen on occasion long aboveground shoots dipping down at the ends
into the ground to establish a new plant and anyway rooting down is of
little importance to a plant that can send out its rhizomes for yards
and yards through the soil with emerging shoots all along them.. And
with regard to his further suggestion  of encouraging it as a ground
cover in shade, I would say not unless he is also willing to share the
rest of the garden with it. Don't be tempted David or you will certainly
live to regret it!

As long as it is spreading underground it really isn't that much bother,
but a well-established rhizome will inevitably send up lots of little
green shoots which are fiendishly effective at finding any convenient
plant, from a herbaceous perennial to a bush or tree, and rapidly
enveloping it in a mass of smothering foliage on which the brute
triumphantly arrays its showy white flowers. The only way I have really
found to keep it under control is a regular inspection about twice a
week to pull off new shoots (preferably with a length of rhizome if it
will come).
Pulling out actual rhizomes is rarely effective in the summer though, as
they seem pretty brittle, but I do find that any I discover during
winter clearing do seem to come out of the ground much more easily and I
have on occasion pulled out several yards. How much good this really
does I don't know, but is sure is satisfying!

The real control however I am sure comes from that constant war on
emerging shoots, which must weaken the thing in time because it can make
so little food. The NZ gardener who claimed to have got rid of it by
applying vinegar to the shoots was doubtless doing the same thing of
discouraging the young growth, as the vinegar would not really have
translocated any distance. I suspect Roundup might not do any better
(even if I was prepared to use it). The thing I like about the hand
pulling is it costs nothing but a bit of time and causes no damage to
the soil or the other plants.

I am not sure myself about whether it ever spreads by seed, but as any
tiny fragment of rhizome can produce a new plant, seed spread is
probably of minor importance anyway.. It certainly got into my soil with
a load of cheap soil we unwisely bought in our very early days to fill a
terrace.

> I have read of painting the leaves with narsty weed killer; roundup doesn't
> do it unless you really get it good in late summer when it's just about to
> go down.  Then it takes the poison down into the roots.  I have heard of
> mixing 50/50 roundup and water and putting it in vials, hanging the vials
> around and putting a cut end of the vine into the vial, where it sucks up
> the stuff.  Mainlining so to speak.  It's not as easy as it sounds...

This is much more effective with an even more savage weedkiller Dicamba,
which used to be sold here as Woody Weedkiller mainly for killing
stumps. I did quite well for a few years in my less organic days with it
using the vial approach, but eventually it began to make the standard
(tree too you) roses which shared the bed very sick, even though I had
taken every precaution not to spread the poison beyond its target. I
immediately stopped the treatment and the roses slowly recovered, but
were not at their best again for around three years... And enough of the
convolvulus survived to get going again very nicely thank you. That
round definitely went to the pest, I think.
> 
> My garden has been completely taken over during my year away in Turkey,
> which actually makes leaving it now not quite so difficult.  I figure this
> is as good a time to bail as any!

What a shame Bob, cut your losses and run seems a good answer, but
perhaps you will have some difficulty getting anybody else to take it on
unless you sell while the brute is dormant.
 Best of luck

Moira
> 
> ===
> David Feix wrote: ......White Morning Glory species which can be so
> rampant in the Seattle area is Ipomoea alba?    We never see this as
> an escapee here in the
> SF Bay Area, and I assume it can't survive our longer rainless
> summers here.    The flowers were open during the day, and it
> appeared to grow equally well
> in both sun and rather deep shade...
> ======================================================================
> ==========
> 
> We call it morning glory, but the books call it Field Bindweed.  It
> is a European native, now naturalized over a lot of North America.
> It is difficult to eradicate because of its very deep rhizomes, which
> also help it to thrive in our dry summers.
> 
> In Victoria, it is present in most very old gardens, in areas built
> over a century ago, but not in areas that have been developed more
> recently than that. When people offer plants to friends, other weeds
> often hitchhike, but morning glory doesn't seem to, I guess because
> the rhizomes are so deep.
> 
> Diane Whitehead   Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
> zone 8, Sunset zone 5, cool medit climate
> 
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-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand, SW Pacific. 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Time
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