Growing MG up a maple tree?

I have a very large maple tree (that I hate) in my very small front yard. I have Star of Yelta, Minibar Rose, Flying Saucers and Milky Way. Can I train them to go up the tree? Since there are so many big roots right there at the base of the tree, do I need to dig/drill a hole in the ground and fill it with compost-amended soil? I plan to start the seedlings indoors in peat pots. TIA, Tamara

zone5girl Tamara - if the ground is very fibrous with roots,it would probably be better to have the MG's planted in pysically stabilized containers that are large enough to accomodate the requirements of the plants...The plants being in containers will help to prevent the tree roots from completely drawing away all the moisture and nutrients from the MG's...if the trunk of the tree is getting enough sunlight you can train the vines up the trunk by using some type of support for the vines to climb onto...twine,netting,chicken wire etc., attached to the tree should suffice along with something attached from the container to the tree support to function as a guide for the initial stems from the vines...if the ground is very uneven,you may be able to partially sink the container to stabilize it to prevent it from tipping over...

Hope the suggestions are of some help...

TTY,...

I plan on doing this myself with a tree that should come down (its 75% dead). I've talked my hubby into leaving the trunk (2feet diameter) and some of the major limbs. I'm going to mount birdhouses at the tops of the sawed off limbs and grow morning glories up the trunk, probably using chicken wire or garden netting. Let's compare pics later this season!

Sandy

Glad to see that it's not a completely crazy idea! Thanks for the suggestion about putting them in pots. I don't want them to be visible, so I will bury them in the ground. Sandy, I would love to compare pics...which MG are you going to grow? Tamara

Hi Tamara....I will probably use something that I know is vigorous, like Heavenly Blue or Flying Saucers. Although I love the Japanese types I find they aren't the best climbers and will often only scramble to five or six feet. I'd like to see the MGs cover the trunk and then some!

Here's Flying Saucers with Pearly Gates growing in the background...

Sandy

Those are beautiful! Maybe I'll do some white ones too, or maybe Moon flower. :-) Tamara

Tamara,
I grew two species up two trees last summer and documented the process.

Ipomoea alba:
http://convolvulaceae.home.comcast.net/Convolvulaceae/Ipomoea_alba/
Ipomoea indica:
http://convolvulaceae.home.comcast.net/Convolvulaceae/Ipomoea_indica/

KevinTernes,

Thanks for posting the links. Good information and photos.

Txwillie

Kevin, thank you so much! The idea of the tree trellis is great! Also, I will use pots, as you did, because my maple tree is huge and the roots alone have the diameter of a small tree! Tamara

Hi Tamara...Here's a photo of the beast I'm going to try and cover in 'glories. Hubby and I took down all the major limbs yesterday. Time to come up with a plan I guess!

Sandy

That's funny! I'm trying the same thing this year, too! I have big tree trunk sections that I save when the tree went down this summer. I plan to place big pots of MG's on the stumps with a trellis that leans off to the two small maples. I'm hoping to train some of the MG's up the trees and some of the others down the trunks. Should be a fun experiment!