Weed vine

I wasn't sure where to ask this since I don't think there is a catagory for weeds.

I have a weedy vine that has heart shaped leaves and it is popping up here and there and wraps itself around my other plants choking them.

What is this and how do you kill it? Pulling it up doesn't seem to work.

Bindweed - horrible native vine that is a bane to many of us. Keep pullin'!!!!

Do you think a systemic herbicide like Roundup would kill it? Pulling doesn't seem to be working. It resurrects itself overnight it seems.

I don't trust herbicides around my flowers - I am from the old school - pull them by hand.

sounds like what my grandfather called choke weed. And I don't use herbicides either so I pull a few every day. They are very frustrating aren't they.

Have you tried vinegar? Put some inexpensive white vinegar in a spray bottle set on stream and soak the roots. If the vine is 'vigorus' it may take several applications. Vinegar wont harm anything unless it contacts it, and then just what it touches, not the whole plant, thats why you must soak the root. It works for me. Bob Z4

Thanks for the suggestions. Once I had a name for this weed I looked it up and from what I read it is a major problem to control. Farmers have even not used a field and plowed and replowed over and over to try to get rid of it. They suggested products like Roundup but even this is hard to kill it with. I read that the leaves somehow don't take up enough to get to the roots systemically to kill it. WOW, that's one tough weed if Roundup barely works on it. They said you have to keep reapplying it. It is so close to some of my favorite perennials that I'm afraid I'd kill something I love so I guess not letting it flower and go to seed will help some and I'll just have to keep pulling at it and pray it doesn't multiply.

I know how I got this. The only place I have it is in a flower bed I made out by the street. A few years ago our city reconstructed our streets putting in new sewer and storm drains and the easement property was torn up in the process. They brought in new fill dirt and sod and I think this weed seed came in with the dirt. I read the seed is very viable and can live in the soil for tons of years and when unearthed starts to grow again. I either got it this way or some came in with the soil from some plants I bought and put out there. I'll just keep working on it. I cuss it but so far that doesn't work either. :(

Bindweed is considered decorative and a highly valued ornamental in other countries. I have had people write to me asking for seed. A friend let a wild one run up the trellis on which she usually grows morning glories, and it has bloomed beautifully, and it's foliage is at least as attractive as morning glory.

I love morning glories (as many here must know by now) and grow many of them, but I found the bindweed/Calystegia flower to be almost more lovely. It is certainly more complex and just as delicate.

I agree that the leaves are attractive and from the pics I saw the flower is nice too. I've never let mine flower. My biggest complaint is that it climbs up all my perennials and chokes them and I'm sure would kill them if I didn't keep pulling it out. If it's half as invasive as I've read I just don't have the energy to try to keep up with it taking over the garden.

What's the saying?? A weed is just a flower in the wrong place?? Something like that. HA!

I hate this weed. It tries to wrap around everything. I keep pulling and it keeps laughing.

I have heard about pouring boiling water near the roots of a weed. You have to do it many times.
If it is not so far from your kitchen, you should try.

Hello Loon,Sounds like bindweed to me also' It has a very complex root system,fine threed-like' Even with constant pulling it seldom goes away,if ever' I don't spray, just pull and keep pulling' Once it gets a foothold,nearly impossible to erradicate'I also am a MG person but they too can make a person crazy trying to control them,LOL,sooo pretty'' Good Luck''

isn't that thing called "convulvulous" or something? almost impossible to get rid of - I too got some as a freebie with some top dirt! grrrr! going to try the vinegar on it today! thanks for the tip!

hi we have osmethng similar in our back yard flower bed. I don't really like it too much mainly because it just seems to grow so fast..literally4 inches over night if the conditions are good. It wraps around everything and appears to drown it out or choke it out..but I am not sure. Last year I let it crawl upa trellis but it never flowered. It did get some little tiny green balls on it. I don't know what it was. The stem itself is very strong almost woody I would say. It can grow straight up from the grownd for about 12 inches then it falls down and start wrapping around stuff. The leaves are heart shaped and very shiny. I've tried pulling it out but the stem is very strong . So now i've taken to pulling it out and cutting it very short which just seems to make it bushier oh great. but atelat its not drowning out some of the few plants I have..hardly anything will grow in that soil in that little flower bed except this vine, morning glories, and ivy. ugh. Does this sound like the vine you all are talking about?

No,that isn't bindweed,that most of us are mentioning and now I'm curious as to what the dickens is the name of your vine' Someone here at Dave's knows,can you post us a pic??? That would really help alot' BTW,welcome To Dave's Garden and hope you can stay and enjoy,sooo much to learn and have fun''See ya,Sis'

Isn't it amazing how a weed like this can't be killed and the flowers we baby won't grow. Go figure. :) This hateful little weed tries to wrap around everything.

Sameasalways, what you have sounds like something I have, too---I think it's some sort of discorea, or 'air potato' vine. I never see any blooms, but the 'air potatoes' form all over it, and every one of them sprouts!

Hey, this reminds me of a weed I have also, its also a vine and has heart shaped leaves...when I looked up bindweed which was what you guys were talking about, the flowers were pink/peach, the flowers on my vine are purple, the flowers look like a morning glory except a little smaller and they're purple. This weed also chokes everything out with its vines. Do you guys know what this is?

I too have a heart shaped leaf vine that looks like it has little tiny potatoes all over it.Does anyone know what this is?I have never noticed any flowers though.

My vine's leaves are more arrow shaped now that I look at it and it does bloom. Pink....like a morning glory only smaller. Real pain in the patootie!! :(

Loon, bindweed and morning glory are related species of the same plant.

There is another vine that has ivy-shaped leaves (I'm guessing it may be Kenilworth Ivy) that is the bane of my existence currently; it twines itself all through my plants, and pulling it off without killing my perennials is next to impossible. Keep pulling!!!!