How to Control Morning Glory Weed

Morning glory weeds are known to be annoying things and most people consider them as the number one enemy, especially when they grow so fast and can dominate the garden in a short time. If you are one of those who find them annoying, you might want to check this post about the method to control them.

Identification:

Morning glories are able to be identified with ease as they have such pretty and unique blooms. The flowers of the plant have trumpet shapes. The plant apparently spreads through rhizome stems, underground roots, and seeds. In the morning, the new flowers bloom and they will fade in the afternoon. There will be a couple of seeds in the faded flower and they can be used to spread the morning glory when the spent bloom drops from the vine.

Manual control:

It is not easy to manually remove the morning glories by using the hands with gloves. It is also not effective as it needs a lot of time and energy. On top of that, it can take a few years before the unwanted plants no longer grow from the ground. If you want to get rid of these weeds easily, you are recommended to wait until the spring comes. At the time, the soil is damp so that you will not have a hard time to manually remove the seedlings from the ground. Aside from this method, you can also try to smother the unwanted plants by using the black plastic or mulch. The minus point of this method is the need to keep the plastic or mulch in place for a few years. Not only that, as a gardener, it is a must for you to also regularly check the place for opening and cracks in the mulch or plastic where the light is able to make its way in.

Organic control:

There are several organic items that you can use to control the morning glory weed. The first one that you can try is vinegar. This liquid is known to be one of the best things to kill weed. It is guaranteed that it will always work. As it is counted as homemade organic herbicide, it is fine if you use it at full strength. For your information, the higher concentration of acetic acid the vinegar has, the more effective. It is stated that if you use the herbicide vinegar against the thing in your kitchen, the acetic acid concentration is 10-20% over 5%, for example the white vinegar. While it is effective to kill the weed, it might be risky for you as it can burn the skin and eyes. While applying, please be extra careful to not harm yourself.

If you find vinegar too risky, you can consider using boiling water. While it is true that it is natural, it is actually still risky, especially when you are careless. It is not actually organic herbicide but it is still the good option to get rid of the weeds. To use the boiling water to kill the weeds, all that you have to do is to boil the water and then pour it into the weeds.

In addition to these, steam is also pretty popular on the commercial organic farms. It is a similar idea but it is not simple for the home gardener.

Chemical control:

Depending on the location, the chemical can be used to control the morning glories weeds and the type of chemical can also be different. If you want to control the lawn, you can use herbicides that consist of dicama or 2,4-D to eliminate the unwanted plant. It is best to do as it can work without harming the turfgrass. Unfortunately, it will take a few applications in the summer when the plant is growing so that the effort can be effective. According to one brand of 2,4-D herbicide, it is better for you to treat small areas with a rate of 1 gallon of the herbicide and mix it with 1 gallon of water. Every herbicide with glyphosate can control the established morning glories without damaging the plants. The University of California says that spraying a 2% solution of the glyphosate herbicide to the established plant can do wonders. The effect takes time but it is worth trying. Please be patient and wait a few weeks until the above ground part of the plant dies. Besides, you will have to take repeated applications of the herbicide before the morning glory is eradicated. For those who have morning glories that are growing in an ornamental area such as close to flower beds and landscape plants, you are suggested to carefully paint the leaves of the plant. Do it by using a foam paintbrush dipped in 2% solution of the glyphosate herbicide. This recommended method is proven to be effective to prevent the chemical drifts that are harmful for the nearby plants.

Before using the chemical control, you are encouraged to try the other ones first. The chemical one should be the last one if no one of the others fails to control the weed.

Prevention:

If you want to keep the morning glory or the other unwanted vegetation out of flowerbeds and vegetable gardens, you can consider laying landscape fabric on the ground. It can be done before planting. Black plastic and polypropylene plastic are known as two things that are best at blocking the light from reaching the soil. Do not forget to make sure that the edges of the plastic overlap when you are using these things to prevent the stems of the plants from growing between the pieces of plastic. If you are thinking of the landscape fabric, you can bury your thought as it is not the best option to provide complete protection against weeds. Besides, there is a possibility of the morning glory to grow through the holes if you make holes in the landscape fabric for the plants that you want to grow.