Plant a trumpet vine on a pole in the middle of a lawn so it dosen't spread to flower beds.You can keep the suckers mowed down.
Get Rid of the Bad Trumpet Vine
Cowpea, your Louisiana climate is very different from what we had in northern VA, but we also tried the mowing approach there. What we got was more suckers, every time, moving out from where we mowed. The thing acted like Sherman marching to the sea; and once we started hacking at it and spraying it, it never flowered again. Gave no pleasure, and trashed every bed it reached; I wouldn't plant it again for love or money.
Ruth
Mine is the same way Ruth. I had a dear friend give it to me and I never imagined in a million years that I would have so much trouble with it. Its suckers have gone under my fence and into my neighbors yard. They even come up under his backyard deck. What a mess.
Wow, hemlady, it's just as bad in a colder climate? It is purely evil. So many sources recommend it; they have got to be kidding.
Ruth
Yes Ruth, its horrible. The only place it hasn't done that is at our cabin in northern Michigan. I took a piece of it up there many years ago and it just won't grow there. The winter is too cold I guess.
The one i grow is the cultivar flava and i don't think it's as vigorous species.Also madame galen hybrid isn't bad about suckering.
That's good to know, cowpea. I'd heard that 'flava' is less aggressive, but have on occasion had unfortunate results when I trusted that sales pitch. For example, the supposedly well-named 'Miss Manners' Obedient plant spread like wildfire on our sunny slope, lol. We tend to have rainy springs here in western NC, and the garden in general loves it; the aggressive plants love it too well!
Ruth
I had no idea what species my vine was because it was given to me as a gift and back 20 years ago I knew nothing about trumpet vines. Sure wish I had known.
Amen to that, hemlady; mine came in a mixed pack of native wildflower seeds. There's a mistake I'll never make again!
Ruth
Triclopyr is the active ingredient in most brush killers I've used, and it's quite effective against trumpet vine. Unfortunately, it's a strong and broad-spectrum herbicide. You need to be careful to avoid spraying foliage of desirable plants (I use the "glove of death" approach in closely planted areas to avoid this), and also be aware in making plans for later planting that triclopyr has a longer residual effect in the soil than, say, RoundUp does. Great chemical, but needs to be used with respect.
Thanks for your reply. I don't plan on spraying it, instead sticking individual single cut vine tips into small bottles with a small hole punched in the lids which will be secured to a metal trellis letting the vine consume the brush killer on it's own for a day or possibly two. Do you think this will work without getting much in the soil?
Oh, it should work, daylilydreams, but sounds like a lot of work and not really necessary; the foliage doesn't need to be in prolonged contact with the chemical. To use the "glove of death" approach (which also avoids soil contamination), designate a cheap small tumbler and sponge for this purpose, don rubber gloves, mix up a small amount of chemical in the tumbler and use the sponge to apply to foliage. It's easy and no contamination of soil or desirable plants. Good luck with whatever method you try!
Ruth
Betty, it depends on whether the other trumpet vine sprouts/tendrils/whatever are root suckers or separate seedlings. It's a plant that loves to root sucker, and the chemical absorbed by one sprout will have a slight effect on nearby suckers, but no effect on separate plants. When I was taught the glove of death approach, I was told to just wet my gloved hands and stroke the foliage to wet it, but I found this produced drops landing on the soil, and was worried about its residual effect. I discovered that "baptizing" the foliage with a sponge results in less chemical landing on the soil.
Ruth
Next spring sounds like a plan, Betty. In your zone, the vine is probably going/gone dormant for the winter, and the chemical wouldn't have the desired effect. Good luck-
Ruth
I tried the sponge painting on all my suckers this spring. They looked like they died for awhile but by mid summer were all green again. I have even tried burning them out with a propane weed torch, with no effect. A state inspector who comes to inspect my daylilies once a year, told me I have to kill the main vine. He told me to cut it down as far as I can to ground level and then pour roundup directly on it. I hate to kill the main vine because the hummers and orioles love it but I have to think of my neighbor. He has my suckers coming up through his backyard deck and he is not too happy about that.
Thanks for your message Hemlady wish I would have know about this last spring as my TV died back at the main vine and I could have put roundup on it at the source. I didn't thinking it was dead then all of a sudden it started growing. I know the hummers love it but it has to many suckers. I have a Dropmore honeysuckle that attracks the hummers better and much longer as it blooms here from early spring until fall plus it never suckers. We feed the orioles grape jelly they love it so much they even bring their babies feed them, there are quite a few folks around here that feed the grape jelly.
Betty
Have to agree, Betty, though I understand your viewpoint, hemlady. We have hummers in the garden virtually all season thanks to native honeysuckles, agastache, and various other perennials. The trumpet vine is just too aggressive for my taste, and I keep finding alternatives that work equally well without the takeover tendencies.
Mine died back too in summer of 09 and I thought it had died, only to have it come back again by late summer. I certainly am going to try and kill it off next year though. It doesn't do any good digging out suckers either because they just come back.
I live in Washington and, interestingly, we all wish for more success with this plant. I have seen plants 20 years old that are still confined to their original spot. Only once have I seen it in flower though. It sure is interesting how our different climates render such different results. I am glad anyway to have learned of it's invasive habits. I have tried a few times to grow this plant but haven't succeeded, now I won't try again.
That's fascinating, pattti, and a bit perplexing since your zone is the same as mine. Good illustration, I guess, of the fact that zones don't tell the whole story!
I can understand that Patti. I took a sucker of this vine and planted it l80 miles north of where I am here in Michigan. It has never done much, same size, no blooms at all for the last 10 years.
I took a real fancy to this plant about 15 years agol when I saw it looking so beautiful in full bloom attached to a verticle support and trained like a tree. There were maybe ten of them like this on the boundary line of a local nursery, Sky, in case anyone reading this is from around here, and I would go there each summer just to admire them. They have since been removed due to extensive remodeling and I was seriously disappointed when I saw that. Yes zones are only part of the story.
mine has been struggling to grow since I cut it back to the ground 2 years ago. AFter reading all this I think I will finish it off in the spring and "try" to dig it up.
I seem to have both the evil one and the other one. the evil one is beautiful on the fence, and the creatures love it. fortunately it is so far away from everything that it can grow and bloom for years and not take over anything. it does grow much faster than the other one, and personally, i think the flowers are prettier. might not feel that way if it was taking over the yard.