Hi Wayne, it may need a little help at the start but when it gets going it should be just fine..........Wayne

at most, it will need a single 'leader'... toss a ball of twine up and over an arm of light post, tie one end to either side of the base...and then stand back. once it gets about two feet tall, it becomes a self-supporting structure, and can climb things I didn't think vines could climb.

one thing- you will need to keep it cleared away from any access panels if you USE the light for illumination-- they are quite capable of growing 'into' just about any space, and can short out power in a light pole.

Are you sure you want to plant a trumpet vine? I once saw it grow right into the soffit of a 3 story house and through the roof.
On the other hand, yesterday I saw what looked like 5 vines grown free standing espaliered about 8 ft wide x 2 ft deep and about 8ft - 9ft tall. Cool looking.

I guess it can be tamed if scrupulously pruned.

Trumpet vine grows wild all around here, in trees, around poles, etc. I have seen it around people's light poles, fences, all sorts of places.

Save up your money for an electricians' ladder so you can trim it back from the light!

Trumpet vines are very very invasive so, if you do plant one, expect to end up with many many many trumpet vines. They send out shoots from the roots and can end up sprouting half way across the yard. Once they do that they are very hard to get rid of. My mom and I have been fighting them for years. Almost too old to fight anymore...lol
They grow wild where I live and it amazes me how popular they have become.
Good luck with it.
Lucia

You might regret planting trumpet vine - it really will start coming up EVERYWHERE. So many people are fighting it like crazy, and it wants to choke out everything else.

There are lots of vines that "sucker" - stick on their own and need no supports. I love Boston Ivy - it doesn't flower but it is still beautiful and hardy and will shimmy right up that pole without a second thought!

There are others, too, that will bloom. My crossvine suckers and climbs, but I don't know if it would on metal. Maybe there's a vine forum on here... I've never looked.

I didn't know how invasive they were. They are coming up all over. A friend keeps coming over and digging them up because he wants his fence lined with them. I tried talking him out of it but, oh well. Can I spray them with weed killer??