Why is some morning glory considered a weed?
Question:We have been unsuccessful getting ground cover to grow in our rock wall. Suddenly this morning glory is taking over, weaving in and out of the rocks, doing exactly what we want. Everyone says they are weeds. We think they look great. Is there a problem we are unaware of?
Answers:
this plant is well known as the noxious and extremely invasive weed commonly known as "bindweed" (Convolvulus arvensis -field bindweed, or Convolvulus sepium -hedge bindweed).
it's very prolific, spreads by rhisomes (underground roots) and will wrap around and climb anything that it encounters.
it produces luminous white flowers (some with shades of pink and purple) that are actually quite pretty when you take a good look at them. the flowers blooms last only one day.
if you love them, and they are "doing exactly what [you] want" then enjoy! just hope your neighbours love them just as much!
for some good info on it, check out these urls:
http://www.larrysagers.com/weeklyarticle...
http://www.paghat.com/morningglory.html...
cheers
I learned this a long time ago...
Definition: A weed is a plant growing where it is not wanted.
Obviously, if you like it there, it isn't a weed!
There!
It grows along the road and reseeds itself. Some think of it as a nuisance.
Morning glory is an invasive species. It will choke out other plants. It spreads easily and is difficult to control. It sounds like you are getting what you need from such a plant, so don't worry about it. perfect
They are considered both a weed and a flower, depending who you are. Farmers don't like them, but some gardeners have them in their garden. If they are growing where you want them, let 'em grow.
Weed is a relative term. If you are growing certain types of plants or crops for a certain purpose (i.e. profit, aesthetic value ) and another plant is competing with your crops for water,nutrients, space, and sunshine then that competing plant is a weed. If you enjoy looking at a certain plant and want to propagate it then it is not a weed, because it has aesthetic value for you.
If the morning glory is doing what you want it to do, then leave it! I love morning glories and wish I had brought some with me the last time we moved. They can be controlled fairly easily, if need be, but otherwise are beautiful "weeds" when watered and allowed to climb.
When they start to die out this fall, you'll want to remove the dead vines and unless you are really careful, you'll have seeds all over your yard, so I would suggest bagging the dead plants in the area it's growing. I always saved a few seeds, just in case they came up early the next spring and we had a late freeze, I could just plant my seeds after the danger of a freeze was over.
You probably have "wild morning glory" or bindweed, which is not the same as the pretty morning glories on the seed packets. In my experience, morning glory climbs by curling around structures; bindweed just sticks. I have carefully planted morning glories all over my property, but I uproot the bindweed. But my definition of a weed is "a plant you don't want growing there". If you like 'em, keep 'em. Just keep them thinned out or they WILL take over.
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