Bindweed (Convolvulus) is a beautifully flowering climbing plant from the Bindweed family. There are more than 250 species of this plant. Bindweed is suitable for decorating buildings, various garden structures, arches, and more. This article will tell you in detail about the rules for planting bindweed, growing and caring for it.
Description of the bindweed plant
The bindweed can be either an annual or a perennial plant. And also a herb or shrub. The stems can be erect or creeping. The root system is creeping, the roots are threadlike. Leaves can be simple, alternate, whole, petiolate, lobed, serrated, arrow-shaped, cordate. Flowers are most often collected in inflorescences, bloom at sunrise and close in the evening. Corollas of flowers are bell-shaped or funnel-shaped. The seeds ripen in a capsule.
Decorative types of bindweed allow you to decorate vertical surfaces and create an original look of landscape design.
Growing bindweed from seeds
Bindweed reproduces exclusively by seed. In order for the plant to grow faster and bloom better, it is best to grow its seedlings, and not plant seeds immediately in open ground. It is necessary to plant bindweed seeds for seedlings in March. Before planting, the seeds must be soaked in water for 24 hours. Then plant in separate pots. As a soil, it is better to use a special soil for planting seedlings of flowering plants. The seeds must be deepened a little and sprinkled with soil on top. It is not necessary to plant bindweed in common containers, since the seedlings of this plant are very painful to transplant.
The pots with the planted seeds should be placed in a room where the temperature is between 18 and 20 degrees. Regular watering is also necessary. After about 2 weeks, the first shoots will appear. In addition to watering, bindweed seedlings need mineral fertilizers, which must be applied once every 2 weeks.
Planting bindweed in open ground
Before planting, it is imperative to take out the seedlings to fresh air, starting at 10 minutes and gradually increasing the time. It is necessary to plant seedlings at the end of May. At this time, the frosts will probably not return, the soil has warmed up enough and the weather is good. If the spring is too cold, then it is better to postpone the planting to the beginning of June. The best place to plant is in a well-lit area of the garden, then flowering will last much longer.
Bindweed can grow in absolutely any soil, but loamy and well-permeable soil is considered more comfortable for it. Before planting, it is necessary to add peat to the soil, dig up the soil well and level its surface. Then dig holes and carefully transplant the seedlings together with the earthen clod (if the seedlings were planted in peat pots, then you do not need to remove them from them - such pots are planted with the plants). The distance between the plants should be at least 25 cm. After planting, it is imperative to water abundantly.
Bindweed care
The bindweed needs regular and abundant watering.Lack of moisture will lead to dropping of the buds, and due to excessive moisture, various fungal diseases may appear. In a too dry summer, special attention should be paid to watering. The plant needs weeding only in the first weeks after planting, since then it suppresses all weeds and does not allow it to grow.
It was said above that the bindweed is a climbing plant, therefore, it needs support, which it will braid during the period of active growth. Along the wall of the building, you can stretch a dense thread or install a frame over which the plant will curl. When the seedlings grow a little, then the shoots must be carefully wound on a support. If the bindweed grows in the wrong direction, then you can carry out a small pruning of excess shoots.
It happens that the plant grows very slowly, in which case, in order to accelerate its growth, it is necessary to add wood ash or special preparations for flowering plants under the roots. For example, Agricola or Nitrofoska. Well that's all, this is all the care of the bindweed!
Bindweed after flowering
It is customary to grow bindweed as an annual, so in the middle of autumn you just need to remove the plant along with the roots and dig up the soil well. Since the plant reproduces well by self-sowing, bindweed shoots will appear in the same place next spring.
Diseases and pests
It is extremely rare to damage diseases and attack by harmful insects on the bindweed. Sometimes the plant can get sick with powdery mildew, with which it is necessary to begin the fight as soon as the first signs of the disease appear. A diseased plant should be carefully treated with a solution of some fungicide. As for pests, bindweed can attack aphids. You can get rid of it by treating the plant with drugs such as Aktara, Actellik or Antitlin.
How to get rid of bindweed
There are not only decorative species of bindweed, but also wild ones. It is a bindweed of this kind that is considered to be a weed, which is very difficult to get rid of. The bindweed is entwined around the plant and begins to choke it, thereby preventing it from growing and developing correctly. Therefore, it is best to deal with such weeds when it is still young. The bindweed must be pulled out immediately, trying to remove the entire root from the soil, as new shoots will begin to grow from the remains. If, nevertheless, the weed began to actively grow in the garden, then you need to resort to using special preparations. For example, Lintur, Tornado or Roundup.
In order to finally get rid of the bindweed, it is necessary in the spring to carry out a thorough digging and remove all parts, and most importantly the roots of the plant. Then cover the area with a material that does not allow light and oxygen to pass through. In such conditions, the bindweed will die. You can also get rid of it with the help of siderates. White mustard, which suppresses the growth of weeds, is excellent for fighting bindweed. After each harvest, it is necessary to carefully dig up the soil and remove all parts of the weed. So that the seeds do not crumble, and the plants do not germinate again, they must be burned outside the garden.
Types and varieties of bindweed
Below we will talk about the more popular types of garden bindweed.
Moorish bindweed (Convolvulus sabatius, Convolvulus Mauritanicus) - great for growing in a container or hanging basket. The stems can grow up to 50 cm. The leaves are tender, gray-green in color. The flowers are pale lilac.
Bindweed (Convolvulus bicuspidatus, Convolvulus fischerianus) - grows in its natural environment on a mountainside, on a sandy river bank or in a mountain steppe. Stems about 40 cm long, lying and sometimes ascending. The leaves are pubescent and glabrous, have a sagittal shape. The flowers are single, pink.
Tricolor bindweed (Convolvulus tricolor, Convolvulus minor) - herbaceous and densely branched annual. The stems spread along the ground and sometimes rise. The leaves are lily-lanceolate, pointed at the end, smooth or rough, have a dull green color. The flowers are funnel-shaped and have an interesting color.Bright blue at the edges, white in the middle and yellow closer to the pharynx. There are also varieties of purplish blue, blue, white, pink and purple. More popular ones:
- Krimzon Monarch - the flowers of this variety are quite large and have an interesting crimson color.
- Royal Ensign - the shoots of this variety of cucumbers grow up to 45 cm.The flowers have an original color, rich blue at the edges, and turn yellow closer to the throat.
- Blue Flash - this variety is considered dwarf, as it grows no higher than 25 cm. Flowers are of a pale blue hue.
There is one more bindweed, it has several names - star bindweed, Spanish flag, kvamoklit lobed or morning glory Mina Lobata. It is also a curly bindweed, but does not belong to their genus.
