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I've got a vine that is deep rooted and is wrapping around the plants in my front yard. I haven't spotted any flowers or fruits on the vine yet. I've tried pulling it from its roots a couple of times, but I haven't been successful at getting rid of it.

I'd greatly appreciate some help in identifying the vine and would like suggestions on how to get rid of it.

I live in the Seattle, Washington area.

Here are some pictures:

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K Mehta
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    http://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/5774/how-to-get-rid-of-bindweed-convolvulus-arvensis-once-and-for-all – Ecnerwal Aug 22 '16 at 03:49
  • @Ecnerwal - thanks - I knew I'd answered a similar query somewhere, just couldn't find it! – Bamboo Aug 22 '16 at 10:29
  • [And to think some people are asking about planting it...](http://gardening.stackexchange.com/q/4561/14277) – philshem Aug 22 '16 at 16:21
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    @philshem I'd probably be one of them! I love things that grow where they want and fill up all my open spaces, especially if they have pretty flowers like this! Then again, people who'd rather maintain order, and get things that misbehave out of the way, are probably smarter and have prettier gardens! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Aug 22 '16 at 19:13

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Bindweed, or "white morning glory", most likely. It's a difficult one, but start with removing what you can remove, more frequently, or at least cutting the stems as low as possible.

Ecnerwal
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  • If it is indeed a type of morning glory and has already flowered, then it can seed itself over and over. Try to remove down to the roots as much as possible, or it can just come back. – Srihari Yamanoor Aug 22 '16 at 04:08
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This is, as said, one of the bindweeds, likely Calystegia sepium. Unfortunately, it's very difficult or next to impossible to get rid of, particularly where there is paving or concrete nearby, because the roots will be under the hard surfacing too. Digging it out is not worth attempting either - the roots are thick, but break easily, and the tiniest piece or fragment of root will regrow.

The usual procedure in the UK to try to eradicate this weed is to insert bamboo canes where growth appears at soil level, allow the plant to climb the cane, then spray all the growth on the cane thoroughly with glyphosate - no easy task, because you can only spray on a still day, and any plants surrounding the cane with bindweed must be protected from the spray. This treatment is repeated every time growth appears - with persistence, its possible to reduce the bindweed considerably or to eradicate it. However, because you have paving, the presence of roots beneath that paving means you may not be able to kill it off in one year - ongoing treatment for the next two or three growing seasons is likely to be necessary. This treatment is not attractive - bindweed usually starts to appear at ground level in May, so you'll be looking at what seems to be a forest of canes for a couple of months, but significantly fewer canes in the second year.

If, on the other hand, you decide to stick with just pulling off the topgrowth when it appears, the roots in the ground will simply spread further and you will have more and more topgrowth from the bindweed appearing as time goes on.

Bamboo
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  • It's evil, but not actually magical. If you consistently and regularly pull off all the top growth, and have not missed a patch that's connected to the same root-mass, the roots, while dreadfully determined, will lack for energy that comes from leaves. Now, if you let it grow for a while and then chop it off, all the energy that's been stored while it was growing will tossed back at you as spreading roots... – Ecnerwal Aug 22 '16 at 22:34
  • @Ecnerwal I admire your optimism is all I can say... I did manage to dispose of some last year in short order, but it was a small patch and isolated. Every other garden I've come across it, its been the very devil. Reason not to move in somewhere so far as I'm concerned... – Bamboo Aug 22 '16 at 23:30
  • I'm going hope, given your locale, that you would understand the alternative approach of getting it to fall in love with a honeysuckle. If not, you have some old British humorous music to catch up on. – Ecnerwal Aug 23 '16 at 21:40
  • @Ecnerwal - in my defence, I'm very tired tonight, but I'm not quite getting what you're meaning, my humour detector seems to have clocked off altogether this evening! all I know is, 30 years fighting the stuff to stop it taking over clients' gardens has been one of the more boring/frustrating aspects of my job. I really don't like not being able to solve a problem;-)) – Bamboo Aug 23 '16 at 21:45
  • Flanders and Swann. **Misalliance.** https://youtu.be/AYr0eNtpDHs It ends the way you would like ;-) – Ecnerwal Aug 23 '16 at 21:51
  • ah, before my time... will check it out tomorrow, unless I can't sleep tonight, its really hot here – Bamboo Aug 23 '16 at 21:58