Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

I'm located in NW PA. I have a couple old farm fields (about 5 acres each) that have been planted with tree seedlings (evergreens and hardwoods) over the past few years. Last year I noticed that one portion of one field was getting overgrown with morning glory. Today, I noticed that the morning glory had expanded signifcantly andis everywhere. It isvery thick and is growing up all the seedllings, other volunteer trees,and the golden rod.

I'm afraid it is going to choke out everything. Any suggestions on how to get rid of it?

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

Controlled burn or weedkiller .

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

But how does he do that without killing the seedlings?

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

Yes, there area few thousand seedlings that I don't want to lose and there are many (100 - 200) trees that have started by themselves and range from 5 - 15 feet tall.

But, I do have a question about the burn, would it actually kill the morning glory?

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

I bet it'll be pretty when it blooms.

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

post some pictures when they are in bloom.

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

Pick the right weedkiller since a burn won't work . ;)

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

Selective herbicide. Just be sure to maintain a proper spray rate so that the seedlings don't get too much chemical on them and die anyways.

Check out the labels on some of these suggested herbicides to see if they kill trees or not. I've never sprayed around seedlings that couldn't be killed before, so I'm not sure exactly what chemicals will and won't kill them. If you do go through commercial sprayers they should be able to tell you what chemical you need. Just be aware that if you hire professional sprayers it might cost you a small chunk of money. My company charges $50 per hour per 4 wheeler (we run 4 machines), plus chemical cost, plus mileage. And we are more affordable than much of the competition.

http://www.weedalert.com/cgi-bin/recs_view.cgi?weed=35

RE: Help!-Morning Glory taking over fields
 

Pete - I don't have a suggestion. I see that one of my farmer neighbors has a corn field that some years gets totally overgrown with morning glory or Hedge Bindweed: http://ipm.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/cagse.htm

There might not be much you can do about it. Maybe talk with a local nursery about how they spray when the trees (your seedlings) are dormant. It could be that its just a "great year" for morning glory, and next year if its a little drier - or normal - it won't be as bad.

I wouldn't get too worried until I see damage don to me seedling trees though.

FH