I need honest opinions here folks ....

This is really bothering me.

I am a very new and naive gardener. I am trying very hard to attract hummers to my yard. So what do I do but look at the hummer websites and read that Campsis radicans (Trumpet Creeper) is the #1 flower favorite of hummers. So I found one at a nursery! It is a "Flamenco". I bought and planted it in the middle of my backyard. I did read that they could be somewhat invasive. But the more that I read, the more concerned I am that I have planted a monster just bidding it's time before it rears it's ugly head and becomes severely invasive. I have been reading horror stories about this plant.

I planted it away from the other gardens, away from the the house (25 ft. away), etc. thinking that would do the trick, but now I am not so sure.

Do I need to dig this vine up and destroy it or do any of you have any advice on how to make this plant behave in my yard?

Below is a photo of how I planted it. It seems to like my yard and is growing rather quickly!

I need total honesty on this dilemma, please!

It can grow quickly and stretch out everywhere. Several city parks have it pruned back into a small tree form. They prune all the side branches and leave on main trunk...then trim the top growing branches as needed. It really is a hummie magnet. A neighbor across the street has one and the hummies zip back and forth from my the hamelia patens (firebush) hedges I have lining both sides of my north facing driveway to my neighbor's west side fence. It's always a joy to see them zipping across the street and squeaking happily each way!!!

~ Cat

I tried growing one once and it died....if you want hummers, keep it. Just don't allow it to take over....stay in control!!! You are the master of your universe.

I really like that idea about training it to a standard. IGood control, nice form with pruning and room for coordinating/contrasting flowers at the bottom.

Maggie

I am trying to train it as a standard, but I guess what I am worried about are the underground roots running and causing growth to pop up elsewhere in the yard. Does this happen with this plant?

I don't have any experience with this plant. And I haven't seen any in residential yards. It is not on the invasive list for Florida. I have seen it climbing a tree at a Botanical Garden and the blooms are really beautiful! But I could not tell if there were underground runners. That is my biggest fear! I can keep it pruned back so the vining branches don't run amuck in my yard, but what kind of root system does it have?

Thanks for your honest opinions everyone!

This message was edited Oct 22, 2006 8:11 AM

Cat - How controled was it in your neighbors yard?

I had a Madame Galen variety at my old house. It was recommended as a "less" invasive variety. I still had several shoots a year sprouting up 10-15 feet away.They were easy enough to mow down in the lawn, but more trouble when they sprang up in flower beds. I'm not planning on getting another one at my new house because it was more trouble than it was worth and there are other options that attract hummers here, especially the hameli patens.nancy

I have the Madame Galen and I have seen it sprout up 10 feet from the original spot.
Hummers REALLY LOVE this one and I'm so glad I bought it.
BECKY I think it will be just fine but be sure to keep an eye on the runners but 25 feet sounds like plenty of space between it and your house.

do you live on the ocean side or the mainland. i am fascinated out of my mind that someone has hummers in melbourne. I grew up, and my parents still live in the 6th house down from the causway, on the river...my husbands parents up closer to the beach. NEVER have we been able to get a hummers. Could having to cross the intercoastal have anything to do with it?

I was told by the nursery that the Cape Honeysuckle could grown 20 feet high and 20 feet wide. I planted it anyway because it is so pretty when it goes to bloom. So far after two years, the plant has stayed on one 8 x 4 trellis. I have to prune the sides but I just let it grow as far up as it wants to go. A lot of people told me that the plant was trouble but (so far at least) it hasn't been a problem in my backyard.

I planted Ruellia from seeds sent from Texas. Many people said that it would take over my garden. The seeds didn't come up for over a year and now it is just a small perennial. Ironically, I found ruellia being sold at my favorite nursery.

What I am trying to say is that individual circumstances determine whether a plant is a pain or not.

Take care,

Chuck

Becky, you could plant it in a big clay or decorative pot, that would keep it from suckering and maybe keep it smaller.

I tend to agree with fly_girl -- if the main concern you have is root spread, and possible growth popping up where you don't want it - a nice large pot would allow the vine to grow enough to flower beautifully, and attract the little hummers you want, while avoiding the problem of rampant growth. You sound to me like a gardener who would be able to keep up with the vine if left in the ground, but it may just start to be a hassle you get tired of quickly. I also tend to be quite cautios of vines, and on a small, neighborhood lot plant them with a lot of research. I can definitely understand your concern with this vine as I also considered it - and ultimately didn't plant one for the same reasons you mention. If I do get one though, it will go into a large pot, and not a wooden one that it could root out the bottom of....

Let us know what you decide to do, and keep us posted.. :-) Gardening, the great 'trial and error' hobby..LOL

Jamie

ps...in your opening post you called yourself a new and naive gardener. I have to disagree, a new gardener sure, but naive...no way. Naive is the gardener who buys a vine like this, plants in in a small spot right near the house, and wonders why it swallower the house 3-5 years later ....you strike me as anything but naive!! :-)

This message was edited Oct 22, 2006 2:08 PM

This message was edited Oct 22, 2006 2:11 PM

beckygardener,

The neighbors prune it back severely :o)

~ Cat

Becky~
Do you have hummingbird feeders?

If they are around they will come to one with Hummer (Clear Sucrose) Sugar in water...

If you cant find it there let me know.

Deb

Hi everyone!

Thanks so very much for all the suggestions. I liked the idea of potting the plant, but I was told that it has a very long tap root once it begins to mature and grow. There was concern that it might not grow well being contained in a pot. If anyone has experienced success with this method of containment for the Trumpet Creeper, please let me know!

I am still undecided. I have been checking into root barriers that can be added around the vine's roots in the ground. But I have been told that I would probably have to go down some 6-8 feet! Yikes! So .....

Deb - I have two Humzinger feeders with sugar water that I change out regularly because of the heat here in Florida. I have talked to others locally who do get hummers. All of them have told me that they don't use feeders because the birds don't use them. The local hummers like the flowers instead. I am using both at this time. My 2 Cape Honeysuckles are in full bloom right now and one is pretty tall. They are over 3 years old and I keep them trimmed back during the summer and then let them get crazy in the Fall so that they produce a lot of blooms. I have heard the hummers like them. I know the bees and butterflies have been feeding from them. The plant top looks all orange because there are so many blooms right now. So any overhead flying hummers certainly can't miss them!

I just wished I knew what to do about the Trumpet Creeper vine. I can keep it under control above ground, but dealing with the off shoots from the roots may be more trouble than it is worth. I have talked to folks who love their vines, but they also have much larger yards and can plant them much further away from their home and other garden areas. I have a hard time understanding how one plant can be so beautiful and yet so horribly invasive. There just has to be a way to deal with this plant! Since it is not on the invasive list in Florida, I am wondering if it is not a threat to the environment here for some reason I don't know about?

Oh well, it won't take over my yard for several more years, so I have a few months to do more research and see what I can come up with. If I can't find a way to contain the roots, I'll just dig it up and either give to someone who has the room for it or I'll dig it up and put it in a large trash bag to make sure that it dies. (And that does bother me to intentionally kill a plant because of my own stupidity!)

Thanks Jaime for the compliment. But I do feel pretty uneducated about a lot of plants. The past 2 years that I have been doing my gardens has been very successful. Which comes as quite a surprise to me! My thumbs have always been "brown" in the past. Don't know what has changed. Maybe I am trying to learn more this time around and plant responsibly. Though I have certainly made tons of mistakes the past 2 years regardless of what I have thought I learned. I just don't want the Trumpet Creeper to be my BIGGEST mistake ever! I want this plant, but not at the expense of my entire backyard. Which I find so frustrating! But what I really want are hummers. So I am probably answering my own dilemma..... get rid of the vine and find other plants to attract the little birds. I know it's probably going to come to that ..... unfortunately. I was hoping this hybrid of the vine would be less invasive. But from what I have researched, it has a somewhat rapid and spreading growth. I honestly feel that the nurseries that sell these plants should have warning tags on them about their invasive growth. But I wonder how many of the nurseries actually know about them? Seriously. It's kind of irresponsible of the distributors and retail sellers of these plants!

I just may have to give it another try if yours grow so well! I would love to have such a Hummer magnet in my yard!

Becky~~

I was sincere and truly meant what I said! I have so many people come to me with questions, and gardening problems - most of which could have been prevented with the research, and common sense you are so carefully applying to this plant - and if I don't miss my guess most of what you have done over the past 2 years in your garden! I am not at all surprised you have had a very successful 2 yrs gardening, and would love to see more of it (hint, hint -- pics please :o} )

You asked if anyone knew of someone growing this vine in containers, and I do....I have a fellow gardening-aholic that I work with who has grown this plant for well over 5 years in a large ceramic pot. I asked her how she treated it, what special steps she takes, and this is what I learned: She uses a container that is quite deep - deeper than wide by 2+ times, the size you would use to grow a large shrub, or small tree in. It has grown well, and flowers for months. She does re-pot it every other season and root prunes it as well as trimming down the top-growth so the roots don't have as much top-growth to support while they re-establish, refreshes the soil adds a good organic fertilizer, and it takes back off every time. It seems this vine is tough enough to grow this way, and I would try this before getting rid of it. It takes 2 people to re-pot as she leaves the toprowth attached to the trellis and just works the rootball out of the pot, rests it on a tall overturned bucket while refreshing the soil, trims the root growth, works it back into the pot and thins the foliage.... I asked her if it was worth the trouble, and she said an hour+ of work every other year is more than made up for by the beauty of the plant, and the daily visits from multiple Hummingbirds and butterlies that adore this vine - yes very worth it!! She will be repotting it in a couple weeks, and I get to help...get to?...hmmm - what have I gotten myself into?? LOL Would you like me to let you know the process better once I've seen it done? I told her I might try the vine in a container, so she volunteered me to help.

Have a good day!
Jamie

I like the container idea Jamie, especially in Florida where it will grow all year. What do you think Becky?

Jamie,

THANK YOU! I really, really appreciate what you found out about growing the Trumpet Creeper in a large container instead of the yard. It didn't even occur to me to trim the roots like that! I needed to hear that someone else has been successful growing this vine that way to inspire me. YOU did just that! And yes, if you would please, give me more details after you help your friend repot the vine. I want to know if there is anything that I should probably know when I do this. My vine is over 4 ft. tall. I am wondering how tall hers is and what size trellis she uses. She only re-pots it every 2 years?