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Carolina Gardening

Morning Glory takeover- how to stop it?

17 years ago

Hi all- I moved into my first house in the summer of 2004; I planted a veggie garden last year in the same general vicinity that the previous owner had, although she had let morning glories take over the space. I thought I killed them last winter w/ round-up and tilling but discovered the hard way that I had not, and struggled in summer and fall to control them as they used my vegetables and herbs as vine support. Anyone have any suggestions on how to kill the vines and ensure they don't return this year? The space is perfect (soil great) and I don't have any other area in the yard sunny enough for vegetables. Thank you!

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Comments (7)

redballoon
Original Author
17 years ago
Helps if I get the right year- bought my house in summer of 2005, not 2004. :)
dottie_in_charlotte
17 years ago
It's not the vines but the multitude of seeds that with annual tilling come to the surface and sprout. Keep pulling them as they sprout and know it will be several more years work even if you don't let any of the sprouts grow to flower and seed.
Likely, it's bindweed and wild morning glory giving you troubles. Not much you can do until all the viable seed has sprouted. At least that's been my experience.
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Thanks true-blue! I've been refraining from watering them lately. Unfortunately much of my patio gets watered each night by the sprinkler system. I think they're over-potted for the soil mix they're in, besides the limited sun. I think if i wanted to plant them directly into pots that large, it might have been wiser to start with a soil-less mix (at least that's what I've been picking up in the container gardening forums). But who knows? I can't undo what I've done so far, so for now I'm doing exactly as you suggested: I'm only watering them when they've completely dried out, and I'm giving them as much time as they want to get going. The only thing I might try beyond this is getting some sort of wick (even just a thin length of rolled-up paper towel) in through the drainage holes to help pull out more moisture. In the mean time I'm also hedging my bets. I've started germinating a couple new seeds at a time, and getting them going under artificial light indoors. If they get a really healthy start indoors, I hope to be able to acclimate them to the outdoor conditions later down the line. Originally my goal was a moderately lush border for my patio, but even if my morning glories become healthy, I don't have huge confidence they'll grow to be that lush. I've been thinking about what I might do further down the line, and I think I might try to focus on growing them in smaller pots the way you see in Japanese flower shows, and bordering my patio with another plant. In any case, thank you kindly for your encouragement, I definitely appreciate it! For me it seems like waiting is going to be the hardest part of gardening. Cheers, Nik
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all of us gardeners have been enticed by the gorgeous photos of morning glories rambling and cascading off of fences and trellises,myself included.as beautiful as they are,some varieties are more problematic then others."grandpa ott" is the all time winner in terms of invasiveness.i'm still plucking seedlings every spring 4 years hence.though i grew "flying saucers"to great effect,but never saw it the following year.i suspect some are more prolific seeders than others."ott"seeds remain viable FOREVER.you just have to keep on plucking...they sprout up in september,many feet away from where i planted them years before.lesson learned:i am very careful what i plant now.i suspect i'll be seeing grandpa ott again this spring.if the area in question is not cultivated,a layer of black plastic or weed guard clothe can be set upon the area with a layer of mulch.holes can be made to accomodate a planting of your desire,however,those pesky mg's will find these holes,so be diligent about weeding them every day or so.good luck
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tamelask
17 years ago
i agree with dottie. but at least the vines are easy to i.d., even in cotyledon form, and easy to pull. i have one area i allow a few of the grandpa ott's to grow each yr, and each yr have to pull 100's of seedlings before i let a couple grow. get while they're small- once the seed's set, you're in trouble again. tam
Dibbit
17 years ago
I agree with both the above - while you are probably dealing with the wild morning glory and bindweed, pulling the plants as babies and certainly before they flower and set seed is the only way to go. You probably have MANY seds from the years of 'neglect', and will just have to wait them out. Using a heavy mulch - whether straw, compost or whatever - will help limit the number of sprouting seeds, but, speaking from experience - you WILL have to be vigilant. It does work, but it will take years, not weeks....
trianglejohn
17 years ago
Use a lot of mulch and the seedlings will be easy to yank no matter how much time goes by between pullings. But keep in mind that you are gonna be pulling baby morning glories for a long long time.

You can take a small jar of RoundUp and set it near the adult vines and snip the softest part of the plant and wedge it down into the poison (weight it with rocks or twigs). The vine will suck up the RoundUp and deliver it down to the deep tubers underground. Takes time, and can almost be as much work as simply pulling the vines whenever you see them.

My yard is also shady with only one section lit up enough to grow tomatoes. My problem vines are honeysuckle, japanese morning glory (small blue flowers), and poison ivy. I've been pulling for six years and I guess I'll be pulling for six more before I put a dent in the population. I sorta enjoy the destruction part of weed eradication.
redballoon
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you all so much!!!!!!!! Pulling them for years isn't fun, but if that's what it takes I'll do it :) I love fresh veggies too much to give in to these vines!

Thanks again!
tietie
17 years ago
what about solarizing?

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