morning glory

Discussion in 'Garden Pest Management and Identification' started by jamest, Aug 29, 2008.

  1. jamest

    jamest Member

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    I just recently purchased my first home and the front yard is completely covered in morning glory that i would like to get rid of. My problem is that i am new to this and would just like to get a great start in having a beautiful yard. The grass is completely dead so it is just weeds. Could anyone recommend what steps to take in killing these weeds and starting a new lawn.
     
  2. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    could you post some pics of the 'morning glory'?? i ask because there is a weed that is called morning glory and it is NOT the real thing - which is not a weed. so, need a pic to determine what you have.
     
  3. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Liable to be a Calystegia.
     
  4. C8luvs2gardn

    C8luvs2gardn Active Member

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    Jocelyn, thanks. that was my question. I was recently given some morning glory seeds, and luckily found out before I planted them (through this board, of course! Thanks UBCBG) that there are 2 plants with that common name. Unfortunately, while we were at our friends' I didn't notice much about the plant they have except bluish purple flowers. The seeds are black, odd shape and fairly large, about the size of a large peppercorn.

    Is there any way to tell the 'good' morning glory from the 'bad' (read: invasive)? And also re scientific name, which is 'good' and which is 'bad': Convolvulus or Ipomoea (I googled both and find out that Ipomoea is in the family Convolvulaceae?
     
  5. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    yes the good/wanted and bad/unwanted are all in the same family - convolvulaceae.

    field bindweed is genus convolvulus and hedge bindweed/false bindweed is genus calystegia. both are commonly called morning glory because they look very similar to the real thing (which makes sense since they're all in the same family). the 'common' name 'bindweed' refers to the tendency of the plant to strangle whatever it comes in contact with.

    the REAL morning glory is genus ipomoea. it comes in vine, bush and tree forms.

    i wanted to see a pic because there are some visual differences between the three.

    if what you have is attached around/in/through whatever is growing near it and it is difficult to untangle it from the other plants, then it's probably one of the 'bindweed' types.

    to get rid of it will take time, effort and diligence. it'll need to be pulled up. repeatedly. and don't ever let the flowers (as pretty as they are) go to seed! it'll take a couple years of pulling up new growth and trying to get as much of the root system as possible to get rid of it. if you continually pull out new growth, the roots will eventually die off.

    you can use chemicals, too...they're not all that effective unless you use high doses or have the ability to set up containers and stick the ends of the vines in them so that the plant is literally drinking the poison. either way, you'll be negatively affecting the whole area.

    yes, more a pain in the neck to pull it...and more time consuming. in the long run, it's better for the environment.
     
  6. practicallydone

    practicallydone Member

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    jamest, I share your pain. I also recently moved into a new home, and I fight daily with my morning glory (of the bindweed type). For a while there, I thought I’d never win, and I imagined tying every single one of them into bags of Roundup while I WATCH THEM BURN. Two months later, I think I finally have the upper hand, and this is by digging for the roots as much as I can, as often as I can. No chemicals yet.
     
  7. dustylanes

    dustylanes Member

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    i grew up with the morning glory battle. it will take a few years but if you keep at it you will have some degree if success. if its in your neighbours yards it will always come back. i think its best to attack in the fall and the spring and just maintain in the summer. every little tiny peice of root will grow a new infestation, so you have to dig everything up and go through it all. my mother used bottles of round up on it. but i think the result of physically removing the roots is much more effective. good luck with that. if you hate the morning glory a word of advice never plant bamboo on your property.
     
  8. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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