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mykarma_gw

Invasive trumpet vine

Mykarma
19 years ago

Hi, all,

I feel guilty even typing this, but I'm thinking about cutting down the trumpet vine that climbs up to the top of our deck. I love the brief flowering period (as do the hummingbirds), but I hate the way its creepers pop up all through the adjacent flower beds. They are MURDER to pull out and I never get them all, and they really spoil the look of the beds.

So, first, I guess I need permission to get rid of a plant whose negatives outweight its positives, and second, does anyone have any alternative ideas re. flowering vines, annual or perennial, that will provide a bit of shade over the deck but not be so darned invasive?

Comments (33)

  • bulldinkie
    19 years ago

    I made mistake of planting one on my gazebo...If you want to think youre in amazon just go down when its raining ,walk out on gazebo that hangs out over the water and youll see vines allllllover the top of gazebo.

  • naturenut_pa
    19 years ago

    we sow morning glory seeds at the base of the deck every year. in the fall, you just collect the seeds and you're ready for the next year. we haven't had any problems with them reseeding. the cover they provide is very thick, if you sow enough of them.

    i just planted a trumpet vine on the corner of the property so that it can work it's way up and over the barn ruins. i hope it's every bit as invasive as you say it is, i'd be thrilled to have maximum coverage there.

  • ArborBluffGirl
    19 years ago

    How about crossvine aka Bignonia capreolata?

  • geoforce
    19 years ago

    A Montana type clematis is nice. They will get gigantic, require no pruning except to remove dead wood, and come in a nice shade of pink in some varietios. Not invasive at all.

    George

  • luvsgrtdanes
    19 years ago

    I hate my trumpet vine!! I have been trying to get rid of it for 2 years, it doesn't seem to want to go!!
    How about honeysuckle? I know that can get invasive but it is a little easier to cut back and the smell is intoxicating!!
    I do morning glories too and there are so many different kind. Scarlet runner bean is pretty and the hummingbirds love it.

  • Mykarma
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    We have cut the trumpet vine down (yay!!) and now have to deal with killing the stump. I bought some StumpRid or whatever it's called--the stuff you pour into drilled holes in the stump--and was unhappy to see it recommends you let the stump "season" for 15 months before you apply the stuff. I'm going to do it anyway and see what happens....

  • Patriz
    19 years ago

    I didn't believe everyone about the invasiveness of the trumpet vine, that is, until it grew under my house siding near the roof and nearly caused a divorce! It was so difficult to get it out from under the siding, but we managed to remove the vines and save the siding. Never again will I plant this stuff near any structure that I don't want damaged.
    For vines...what about Scarlet runner bean (fast shade) or black eyed susan vine?

  • annld
    19 years ago

    Someone I know says "if you don't want it in your garden, it's a weed." Nuke the sucker!
    Ann

  • susan6
    18 years ago

    I've had excellent luck killing off stumps and things like Poison Ivy, Tree of Heaven, etc. by painting full strength brush killer on the freshly cut stump and then covering with a plastic bag affixed with a rubber band for the season. If you don't do that, the brush killer will wash down into the soil and kill everything within about a foot.

  • Karigraphy
    18 years ago

    Are all trumpet vines invasive???

    We just put some in last year to go over a pergola but they have barely started to grow this year. If they are going to be a nuisance, I'd like to take them out now.

    Thanks,

    Karen

  • sween
    18 years ago

    They get mixed reviews, but there seem to be more folks who want rid of them than want them. We have one, so far small, but we're keeping a keen eye on it. Should it start looking like it's headed for a "takeover," out it comes. When in bloom, though, they are extremely impressive.

    Anyone grow Scotch Broom? Nurseries often sell them, although in many parts of the country they're considered a noxious, invasive weed.

  • daktovet69
    18 years ago

    Trumpet Vines can be invasive, but it's all in the way and where you plant them. 3 years ago I tore one out cause it was cracking the bricks on my friends garage. 2 wraped around each other that looked like a small tree. The main root shot under the sidewalk and around the house. Had to dig down 3 feet to remove most of the root. Did't do the front half yet, but will this fall when the other flowers die down. That side is now loaded with trumpets. Have to remove the main root to get rid of them. The other trumpets that grow like vines on a trellice about 20 feet from the house never seem to spread or get any bigger. But have pretty blooms every year. They are right next to the Lilac bushes and the garden. It's the Lilacs that are taking over there. Probably close to about a thousand runners from the Lilacs. Those need to be cut as well, but they are my friends. I have recently cut out some runners and now have 5 healthy Lilac(white) bushes. Out of the other 3 I just did a couple weeks ago 1 is getting better color and the other 2 I'm sure will survive. Got to be strong to survive this heat wave. No problems with the other trumpets and they have been there over 20 years.

  • Pipersville_Carol
    18 years ago

    I must be a bad gardener... I've had trouble getting trumpet vines to grow! Two of them (mail order purchases) are wimpy little things that have never amounted to anything. A third one (freebie from my sister) is finally blooming and growing this year, but it took awhile to get there. I haven't noticed any invasiveness, and I've had them for several years.

  • Lisa_Michelle
    18 years ago

    I'm glad to have come across this post! I was considering moving my trumpet vine from the edge of the property to our deck area. Based on what most people posted I think I am better off leaving it to cover an old wood pile on the edge of the property. It is adjacent to a small, wooded area, and even though the wood pile is decomposing faster than I thought it would, it sounds like a more suitable place to let the vine run rampant. I just hope it flowers one day........

  • beanmomma
    18 years ago

    Trumpet vine doesn't always seem to cause trouble for everyone. The trouble with trumpet vine is that when it does cause trouble it does it in a big way!

    My parents had one growing up a huge bing cherry tree. The vine climbed to the top of a 40-50 ft. tree, eventually had a trunk about 3' around and actually held the tree up for several years. Then it started sending up shoots...hundreds and hundreds of persistent shoots up to 20' away from the base of the plant. Every garden and the lawn has plants popping up. The main vine and cherry tree collapsed maybe 5-6 years ago but the shoots remain.

    I won't even talk about the vine they've been trying to get rid of for 20 or so years that's growing in the house foundation...sigh.

  • koke
    18 years ago

    Loved the trumpet vine...The 1st yr. a few blooms and some growth.The 2nd yr.less blooms and more growth. Then the 3rd yr. mostly lots of growth and runners everywhere! No blooms!For the past 2 yrs.I have been pulling out the remnants and they still come from out of nowhere! Hubby is annoyed with me since he didn't want one in the first place.So,I meekly pull and hope none regrow.Gosh,I hope the roots aren't growing under my basement.Then,I'd be in really huge trouble with the Hubby! So pretty but I guess they are not for my garden.I planted Honeysuckle it its place and it has been doing nicely.I have Honeysuckle in another part of the yard and although it has gotten large,at least,its controllable.......Koke

  • FLYONAWALL
    18 years ago

    HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT...too invasive. I can't get rid of the dang thing. Keeps popping up everywhere. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT. Can't kill it... can't dig deep enuf to get the roots HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT. IT's KILLIN ME... I bet if it could....it would reach up under my bedroom window and shoot a runner thru the siding up under my window and wrap itself around my neck and kill me before I kill the dang thing. Course...it'll probably win the war. I've tried just about everything to KILL IT. If anyone has a killer remedy...I'd appreciate it before it kills me.

  • ljrad
    17 years ago

    I can only add to the general negative chorus--trumpet creeper is the bane of my existence! Moved into a house with it growing all along a fence. There were probably 4 or 5 main trunks ranging from 2-4 inches. The stuff along the fence was pulling the fence out of the ground, and the multiple vines twisting up 3 trees were almost strangling them. Last year cut off a couple of the trunks along the fence, but saved the biggest ones for later, and also cut the trunks of the ones growing up trees and tried to pull a lot of it down. This year growth was starting to come up from all of those stumps and since Spring shoots are coming up a good 15 feet into the lawn--I've been killing little patches of grass by spraying the shoots with Round Up. That seems to kill the shoot but not the root, which sends up a new shoot a few inches away--more Round Up, more dead grass, you get the picture. I smashed up one old trunk along the fence with an ax and put stump killer on it--hope it works, but I'm leery about the ones at the base of trees, thinking I might well kill the trees; maybe I'll try the bag method mentioned above. The remaining main trunks along the fence are next to a garden bed I planted so I'm leery of both Round Up and stump killer there...meanwhile, shoots from that are finding their way out from under the landscape tarp I laid for the bed. Along the fence where there is no grass and mostly weeds I have taken to roto-tilling and hacking at the roots of the stuff with a mattock---a good foot or more down, while screaming "DIE! DIE! DIE!" Really, I think the only thing that would have a good chance of getting rid of most of it (but probably not all) would be to hire a back-hoe and dig up about half my yard to the depth of three feet, and then sift all the dirt to remove every bit of root. Bottom line--DO NOT PLANT THIS STUFF in your yard, near your house, or on any acreage you plan to domesticate, or you will end up like Sleeping Beauty trapped in your vine-choked castle!

  • jill_in_vegas
    17 years ago

    I'm researching vines to plant, and came across this thread. What is this invasive critter's botanical name? (I'm new to vines) I'd hate to make the mistake of planting it. I'm looking for low maintenance stuff to cover a 60-foot block wall with trellis attached.
    Is it Podrana Ricasoliani (Pink Trumpet Vine), which has been recommended to me?

    Many thanks for your help!

  • jerkymom
    17 years ago

    Campsis radicans (trumpet vine or trumpet creeper)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Trumpet Vine Info

  • bella_trix
    17 years ago

    Has anyone tried using a root barrier (like for bamboo)with trumpet vines? I really want to have some for the hummingbirds, but I want to avoid all the trouble that might come with them. I'd like to plant them far away from the house against a fence. Any thoughts?

    Mykarma, if you replace the trumpet vine with Honey suckle, make sure you ask for native (non-invasive) honeysuckle. It's really pretty, smells great, the hummingbirds love it, but it won't take over the world.

    Good luck,
    Bellatrix

  • bonniebudall
    10 years ago

    I have a trumpet vine at m y gazebo down by the pond. It was planted at a pillar but is mainly growing up through the middle of an adjacent RR tie. I trimmed it back today and it has some vines now growing up the pillar etc. What I want to know is: do I dare spray round up on the shoots coming through the rr tie. I have friends who have sprayed RU on invasive shoots of other things and it doesn't phase them. I want the trumpet vine to grow on the pillar not up through the patio and RR tie. Does this control or KILL the entire plant. Thanks!

  • Dzitmoidonc
    10 years ago

    Control is impossible. The more it is hacked at, the more shoots it sends out. What I would like to hear is a story that somebody has completely eliminated them, and is still Campsis free 2 years later. Anybody?

    A good replacement, and I sound like a broken record, is Aristolochia durior / macrophylla. A native plant that provides dense shade, does not send out underground runners, takes pruning well, grows in either sun or shade. It may take 2-3 years for the plant to reach it full potential, but after that when you are sitting in its maintenance free shade, you will be thanking nature for making such a fine vine.

  • bulldinkie
    10 years ago

    part 2- of my post above,it was beautiful looked like a little hut in the jungle lol Then one more totally dead,I said what! what happened ?It was a couple of muskrats ,chewed all the roots off.Some were floating in the pond.

  • greenthumbzdude
    10 years ago

    trumpet vines are agressive not invasive.....an invasive has to a non native exotic in order to be classified as such.

    if you really do not like it then I would get the coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) its a naitve vine honeysuckle that produces long red tubular blooms throughout the summer. Hummingbirds love it.

  • greenthumbzdude
    10 years ago

    trumpet vines are agressive not invasive.....an invasive has to a non native exotic in order to be classified as such.

    if you really do not like it then I would get the coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) its a naitve vine honeysuckle that produces long red tubular blooms throughout the summer. Hummingbirds love it.

  • hgrada
    8 years ago

    I've read this thread now three times over the past four years. I'm still trying to get rid of a trumpet vine I didn't even know I had when I moved into a lovely house with a mature garden. The previous owner must have gone nuts trying to pull the shoots - I certainly am! Like one of the posters above, mine is running along a decorative fence and trellis. I've tried digging deeper and deeper to find the source, found one (maybe?) and more just popped up in it's place!!!! To complicate matters, I 'think' I have some sort of root-boring pest. The year after we moved in on of eight large (12 feet maybe) lilac bushes quit producing and dying. The next year I pulled three out of the ground with my bare hands - no roots left! Is it the vine - or is it a pest? My rose vines have also died, and now, the remaining four lilacs - located about 30 feet away, are also dying. I'm down to two of the original eight, sadly.


    Now I have this barren space in my garden, and I am skeptically staring at it with about $60 of blueberry bushes waiting to be put in that same ground...


    Any advice on getting rid of this vine (and this pest) once and for all is desperately welcome!!!

  • Terry Dougherty
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Big mistake planting the trumpet vine! It looks beautiful and the hummingbirds love it but it is ridiculously aggressive and spreads everywhere. Took us THREE years to final stopping getting shoots popping up all over our lawn. We pruned it often but that did not stop the aggressive root system runners from spreading everywhere. Absolutely awful.

  • HU-350801732
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    People seem to think the trumpet vine is invasive because it is hard to control, spreads easily and is hard to get rid of.

    Before you label this plant, "invasive", be sure to check your local horticultural, experts or guidelines,

    Just because a plant is hard to kill, spreads easily, even after digging out the root ball does not make the plant, "invasive".

    A trumpet vine is what is known as an, "aggressive" plant.

    Before labelling Plants, "invasive", people should educate themselves about the differences between, "aggressive" and "invasive.

  • User
    3 years ago

    Dig down to a root, make a deep cut in it and spray on Round Up. It will kill it.

  • Lori Clark-Boone
    3 years ago

    Never, never plant a trumpet flower vine, honeysuckle or english ivy. I planted the trumpet flower, my one neighbor the honeysuckle, the othe the english ivy. All invasive (heck with agressive!) These plants are killing my entire beautifully landscaped backyard. While my one neighbor infected my back yard with his ivy, my Infection of his yard with my trumpet vine could cause a lawsuit as it is so close to his foundation. The trumpet vine is all around and under my foundation, many feet from the main stalk. It is growing under my siding. F* the nursery that sold this plant and never warned me...it attracks hummingbirds they said. LOL.

  • User
    3 years ago

    I feel for you, but Round Up worked for us, my husband dug down to the roots, sliced across them with a hatchet, sprayed on Round Up, the plant died after doing this several times over the next month or so. We saw new shoots come up over the next year and repeated the process. That was it, it’s been 5 years. By the way a nearby 5 year old oak tree also died, so maybe one of the roots he doused was Oak, oops. So their are risks using round up, be careful.

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