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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

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Friday - June 04, 2010

From: Eugene, OR
Region: Northwest
Topic: Invasive Plants
Title: Eliminating bindweed in Eugene OR
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Any ideas on the best non-chemical way to get rid of bindweed in the Eugene, Oregon area? In addition to any other ideas you can suggest, are there any groundcovers that would do the job and be non-invasive themselves? The bindweed is in both hot sunny areas and shade areas. Thank you!

ANSWER:

About all we can say about Convolvulus arvensis, Field Bindweed, is that it's not one of ours. Native to Africa, Asia and Europe, it does not appear in our Native Plant Database. From this USDA Plant Profile, we would say it is pretty well established in and around Lane County, OR.

You are no doubt already aware that there is no easy way to get rid of this plant. We found a couple of websites that have good information, but no magic potion. The first is from Texas Invasives and the second from National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Field Bindweed Control Alternatives . They both cite methods of chemical intervention, but they also have other non-chemical methods. 

 

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