Creeping bellflower - Ask Extension
I suddenly have a large swath of creeping bellflower (none last year) growing in an area of my native plants. I dug much of it up today, trying to get...
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Creeping bellflower #930601
Asked May 04, 2026, 6:17 PM EDT
I suddenly have a large swath of creeping bellflower (none last year) growing in an area of my native plants. I dug much of it up today, trying to get the rhizomes. However, there is a lot of it growing in and among the twigs of several red-twigged dogwood. Should I spray with glyphosate (or something else)? Do I need to pull up the dogwood?
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
Thank you for writing.
Creeping bellflower is a tenacious weed. It produces 10-20 thousand seeds per flowering plant per season and it spreads through rhizomes.
There are three approaches;
I make sure that no plant every blossoms but this does not stop seeds from being blown in from neighbors or parks where it is abundant. I dig outrhizomes of the baby plants starting now and through the season.
If the patch is small, you can try solarization with clear plastic. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/solarization-occultation
Herbicides https://extension.umn.edu/weeds/creeping-bellflower#:~:text=Creeping%20bellflower%20is%20invasive%20in,carry%20up%20to%2015%2C000%20seeds.
No matter which method you choose, CBF is a long time partner and you must aggressively deal with it every year.
Creeping bellflower is a tenacious weed. It produces 10-20 thousand seeds per flowering plant per season and it spreads through rhizomes.
There are three approaches;
I make sure that no plant every blossoms but this does not stop seeds from being blown in from neighbors or parks where it is abundant. I dig outrhizomes of the baby plants starting now and through the season.
If the patch is small, you can try solarization with clear plastic. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/solarization-occultation
Herbicides https://extension.umn.edu/weeds/creeping-bellflower#:~:text=Creeping%20bellflower%20is%20invasive%20in,carry%20up%20to%2015%2C000%20seeds.
No matter which method you choose, CBF is a long time partner and you must aggressively deal with it every year.
Thank you Steve. I have dug out most of it today but have more work to do in the coming days. Any thoughts on how to handle the creeping bellflower growing essentially inside the bush? There may be no good answer to that one
On May 4, 2026, at 5:40 PM, Ask Extension wrote:
Thank you for writing back.
Bellflower in a bush or a patch of bulbs or decorative grasses is a problem. The large rhhizomes do not make it easy to kill. You can try using kids' waterpaint brushes to spot treat the leaves that are left with roundup but I am not impressed with that.
On the optimistic side, with constant attention, I keep mine at a 10th of what they were but new seeds are always entering your property.
Bellflower in a bush or a patch of bulbs or decorative grasses is a problem. The large rhhizomes do not make it easy to kill. You can try using kids' waterpaint brushes to spot treat the leaves that are left with roundup but I am not impressed with that.
On the optimistic side, with constant attention, I keep mine at a 10th of what they were but new seeds are always entering your property.
