The Hell Lawn or Garden Called “Morning Glory”

When one originally looks at the plant often referred to as “Morning Glory” or “Field Bindweed”, the flowers produced are beautiful and inviting. Though Morning Glory can be lovely, you can find out quickly that it can turn your lawn or garden practically into a living hell when you want to try to get rid of it.

In a number of properties I’ve purchased I’ve discovered the wrong way that you do not try to control Morning Glory by pulling it out. It seems as though the Morning Glory takes that as an act of war and strikes back with a vengeance. It multiplies and the problem becomes much worse than when you originally started. Sometimes it seemed as though I would never be able to win the “war” I had going with Morning Glory.

The good news is that the “war” with Morning Glory can be won. You must be patient and persistent. The method you choose to fight it depends a lot upon your budget and the way your lawn and/or garden are setup.

Morning Glory within a Garden

A common spot to have trouble with Morning Glory is within a Garden. Controlling Morning Glory in your Garden requires more patience than with other places due to the fact that you probably don’t want to kill the plants that are nearby. For this reason you will want to use a lot of caution when treating Morning Glory in your Garden.

My recommendation for controlling Morning Glory in your Garden is to use Round Up and spread the Round Up on to the leaves of the Morning Glory plants using a paintbrush. I’ve also heard of some people using an eyedropper. Patiently do this daily for approximately two weeks until the plant is dead. Continue with each Morning Glory plant until you’ve killed them all.

It will be necessary to keep a close watch on your garden for new Morning Glory sprouts. It can take time to get it all under control. Thus patience is required, but you will be rewarded by no longer having Morning Glory control your Garden.

Morning Glory in the Lawn

For Morning Glory in the lawn, timing seems to be pretty critical for the best way to control it. In Utah where I live, the best time seems to be in the Fall when the flower is open and just before the first big frost. Since this article is based on my own experience you may need to adjust the timing someone for the area in which you live. If you live in an area that doesn’t have a frost, I would recommend controlling it in late Fall, again with the flowers open. Apply Banvel mixed with 2,4-D. This will enable you to control the Morning Glory without killing the lawn.

This again must be done with persistence. You must watch for new sprouts reapply several times as needed. This is a very pesky plant and may have to be treated through more than one season before you are able to successfully control it.

About the Author

Kevin Cundick writes articles for the Best Guide to Gardening web directory. Kevin uses the experiences he has had with Gardening within his articles. For more resources and information on gardening, visit the Best Guide to Gardening website. This article may be freely distributed provided the text and URL's included within remain intact.