Morning glory, bindweed

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The flowers open with the day and close again at night, each one short-lived but endlessly replaced on fast-twining stems. Morning glory, or bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), makes quick ground cover and pours out bee-attracting nectar, ideal in an orchard — provided you pull it out during blooming, before it sows itself anew.

Bindweed, morning glory facts

Planting bindweed, morning glory

Annual bindweed, morning glory

Annual bindweed (Convolvulus sepium, or hedge bindweed) is sown at the beginning of spring, starting in April in climates that are mild and May after the last frost spells anywhere else.

• Bindweed requires sun and heat but not too much of it.
• Sow directly in the ground.
• Water regularly after sowing, at least until seeds sprout.

Perennial bindweed, morning glory

We recommend planting perennial bindweed in spring.

• There are, among others, blue rock bindweed (Convolvulus sabatius) and field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis).

• Sow dwarf morning glory (Convolvulus tricolor), an annual, thinly in situ where it is to flower, since it dislikes root disturbance; if starting under cover, use individual pots or modules to minimise it.
• When you sow or plant twining climbers such as morning glory (Ipomoea) or runner beans, set the trellis, wires or fence in place first, since their stems climb only by coiling around a support.
• Blue rock bindweed (Convolvulus sabatius) wants a gritty, free-draining spot such as a wall top, rockery or container in full sun, since it rots where the soil stays cold and wet.
• Think twice before deliberately introducing field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) to a border, as its deep roots resprout from the smallest fragment left behind when you dig.

Which bindweed is which?

The name bindweed covers both annual and perennial species, and they are not sown or planted at the same moment. Here is what the article says about each of them.

Choose the twining species for quick ground cover, and the shrubby one where you would rather not chase runaway stems.

Garden-worthy bindweeds to choose from

Beyond the wild field bindweed, several Convolvulus are grown on purpose for their flowers or silvery foliage, and they behave far better than their weedy cousin. The table below sets out the ones commonly sold in garden centres and seed catalogues.

Caring for bindweed

The ultimate crawling vine, bindweed tends to spread spectacularly without having much to do.

Sometimes bindweed is really considered to be a weed, and the problem is often how to get rid of it…

• To fight against bindweed, you must pull it out during the blooming season so that it can’t sow itself anew.
• Thick mulch won’t stop the seeds from sprouting and winding their way through, but it will make pulling them out much easier.

• Field bindweed regrows from deep white roots that run metres down and snap easily, so rather than expecting to lift them whole, loosen the soil with a fork and remove as much root as possible, repeating regularly to exhaust the plant.
• Never rotavate or hoe ground infested with bindweed, because every chopped fragment of root is capable of producing a new plant and the infestation ends up spread across the whole bed.
• Keep pulled bindweed that is flowering or setting seed out of the compost heap, since both the seeds and the root pieces survive and will be spread again with the finished compost.
• Unwind bindweed from young shrubs and fruit trees while the stems are still soft, since the twining growth smothers and shades the foliage it climbs over, though these herbaceous stems die back each year rather than girdling trunks.

Learn more about bindweed, morning glory

Bindweed or morning glory is a cute plant with distinctive flowers to which it owes its name.
Indeed, they open during the day and close up again at night, and their life span is very short.

Its blooming time is the opposite of that of the four o’clock flower…
But don’t worry, the flowers come back repeatedly!

The capacity of the plant to propagate is surprising, and you’ll probably find that it spreads too fast.

However, it makes for great ground cover, and since it grows quickly, it is perfect for wild gardens.

• Bindweed is a plant that produces a lot of bee-attracting nectar, which makes it ideal in an orchard.

Note that bindweed is a twining vine. There’s a shrubby bindweed that grows lush and isn’t as invasive: Convolvulus cneorum. Its silhouette is similar to that of lavender when left to grow on its own, and it also has silvery leafage as well!

Smart tip about morning glory

Cuttings are very easy to make from morning glory or bindweed.