The most hated weed in my garden is also a beautiful plant…hedge bindweed has lovely white flowers this time of year. The problem with the plant, like all weeds, is that it grows where it isn’t wanted. It twines around all the other plants in the garden, overwhelming them and becoming tough to extricate. Late in the season, the plant sends out long exploratory underground stems–they can stretch ten feet or more, and that’s how they gain ground throughout the yard. They are in virtually every flower bed we have and the only thing that keeps them at bay is shade.
Bindweed using raspberries for support.
My 2020 plans for these plants is to cut them off at ground level wherever I find them and to cut the wandering invaders off as soon as I see them. It will take years to root them out entirely, but I’ll keep working on it.