Morning Glory- Control

Q: I’m swamped with morning glory. With the rain a week ago, these things are sprouting like crazy! I pull them before they flower and make seed, so where are they coming from?

A: I spent my childhood hoeing morning glory from our big vegetable garden and wondering the same thing. Your frustration comes from the morning glory “seedbank”. When a single morning glory flowers, many seed are produced. All fall to the ground but not all germinate the next year. Some wait for as long as five years before they sprout. So unless you control EVERY morning glory plant for five years, the “bank” of seeds in the soil still contains unsprouted ones, which will come up in the future. You are fighting Mother Nature, which loves the plants we call weeds just as much as she loves your garden plants. Weeds are simply Nature’s darlings which have learned to out-compete other plants. Keep your hoe active, and remember that weed control is good exercise!