managing bindweed in perennial beds

Several areas of the land I steward are bindweed strongholds. In garden beds and open areas, it's annoying, but pretty easy to just keep pulling them. The struggle I am having is that the bindweed has gotten into areas that are beautiful polycultures of perennial wildflowers that I very much want to keep. I pull the bindweed while the other plants are small, but as it gets later in the season, the plants get too tall and dense for me to be able to get in there to weed and the bindweed starts choking everyone else out. At that point, all I can do is try to pinch the tops off, as untangling often leads to damaging the plant I'm trying to save. Most of the methods I've seen suggested for dealing with bindweed involve covering the area for a prolonged period to smother the bindweed. But in my case, that would kill all the other plants I'm trying to save. What to do then?

The soil is fairly heavy clay, so I'm sure the bindweed has something of an advantage. In trying to search for a solution, I found this:

What bindweed says about the soil conditions when it appears is that the soil is out of balance, with pH issues and stuck or incomplete decomposition of organic material accompanied by excess heavy soil metals such as magnesium and potassium. There is usually an accumulation of dry and dead plant matter that can’t finish decomposing, creating the right conditions for bindweed to flourish. Most often, the soil is low in humus materials with low available calcium and phosphorus. pH can be either excessively low or high and the soil structure can be clay or sandy.

Source: https://underwoodgardens.com/slide-gardening-tips-and-trickscontrolling-bindweed-in-the-garden/

That would make it seem the solution is embarrassingly simple: just add compost and organic matter. I must admit, I'm terrified that I'd just be enabling the bindweed to reach epic new levels of growth. Has anyone successfully used this approach to eliminate bindweed in a similar situation?

I would be most appreciative of any other thoughts on how to get rid of the bindweed whilst keeping my native wildflowers happy.

Heather said, "That would make it seem the solution is embarrassingly simple: just add compost and organic matter. I must admit, I'm terrified that I'd just be enabling the bindweed to reach epic new levels of growth.

Why not try this in a small test area to see what happens?

This articles suggest cutting bindweed rather than trying to pull it out:

The best way to get rid of bindweed is to cut it off at soil level. Don't bother pulling it up; it will just sprout wherever you tore the roots--and it is virtually impossible to get all the roots out. By continually cutting it off at ground level, and doing it as soon as you possibly can, you will eventually starve the plant (since it will be unable to photosynthesize), and it will die.

https://www.thespruce.com/controlling-and-preventing-bindweed-2540090

I have an endless battle with bindweed.

My experience of cutting it at ground level is that it doesn't kill it,  but the growth pattern changes. Instead of sending out climbing tendrils, it grows as a dense ground clinging rosette. This makes sense, biologically. If climbing doesn't work it, it makes sense to grow low to the ground and send energy into the roots for next year.

I mulch my annual beds heavily, and under those conditions it becomes quite easy to pull roots - the soil loosens.

I recently bought a new weeding tool which seems to work really well:

https://wolfgarten-tools.co.uk/products/ranges/multi-change-tools/multi-change-cultivation/bem-multi-change-cultivator-11cm

This thing works well, because it loosens the soil without snapping the bindweed roots into tiny fragments, which is what the hoe does. Then you can hand lift long root sections.

Well I think it's almost always a good idea to add organic matter to garden beds but I would highly skeptical if it slowed down bindweed. Might make it easier to pull. There was highly detailed forum thread on Rocky Mtn. Gardening forum years ago dealing with bindweed. Probably still there. HEHE still there. Started 52 years ago! https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2131246/what-s-the-best-way-to-get-rid-of-bindweed.

I think the 52 years ago is wrong something with the software is wonky but it's certainly older than 6 years. Anyways it's an informative and very LONG thread.

It won't help with established perennial varieties, but bindweed is a kind of morning glory.  Watch for these seedlings https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikibooks_planting-morning_glory_sprout.jpg with the nearly butterfly shaped cotyledons.  They're very easy to kill at that size. I don't have any of my own to photograph right now because I have been pulling them all spring.  

Mine has always just died off as my soil improved. I never have it in my areas with really good soil. I think adding organic matter is the right approach. I use wood chips but compost or the like should work as well.

I am also fighting the good fight with this particular foe. I have 1/2 acre of 100' long beds, some planted with trees and other perennials, some with annuals, and some resting because I didn't have time to get to them that particular year. I am finding that the bindweed is always much more pronounced in recently cultivated beds and walking paths. I don't think that will surprise anyone here. What might be useful, is that dwarf white clover seems to outcompete the bindweed in these same areas. While it takes a year to establish, the clover either outcompetes it at the root level, not allowing the bindweed roots space in that level of the soil, or the thick cover and low growing habit just doesn't support its photosynthetic needs.

Either way, I would suggest seeding this clover in areas that are disturbed and/or have current bindweed infestations. I also performed a small experiment unintentionally with mulch. In one of my beds I fertilized with horse manure in the fall and covered with tarp for the winter. Once the ground thawed I planted the entire bed with asparagus, strawberry and comfrey. Then it was time for the wood chip mulch. I only got to mulch about half of the bed so far, due to time issues and other things needing attention. What I found was explosive bindweed and other weed germination in the half without mulch, and while there are some plants in the half with mulch, its maybe 5% or less of the unmulched half. I believe this is a dormant seedbank issue, not a living, waiting root structure issue. If I remove some of the mulch, I would bet a paycheck that within two weeks, new plants would germinate and start their reign of terror.

So overall, my suggestion is a three tiered approach. 1 - use dwarf white clover everywhere you can to outcompete the bindweed in recently disturbed areas. 2 - Do NOT let the existing plants set seed 3 - Keep any bare soil covered to prevent seed already in the soil from germinating.

We’ve just discovered bindweed climbing in our dense shoreland stretch of ancient native beach roses. A pair of storms last January devastated all surrounding shore ,shaley beach, and the huge roses had debris and seaweed covering them. I pulled out the debris but left the seaweed which was beginning to compost.
The roses have rebounded, but with a copious amount of seaweed on their roots and the new invasion of bindweed which is probably thriving in the composting seaweed.
Suggestions ?