They are beautiful when mature ...the pups can be pulled out easily when little but once the plant is established you can dig it out and next year you will probaably get one growing back in the same space; at lease that has been my experience...I have had mine for about 10 years ....you can see it on my link below.... picture MVC 768f...it was moved from the front of my house becasue it was too shady for it to flower there but it still grows in the front of my house and now also by the pond. All in all I would probably plant it again if I moved and was starting with a new slate... the yellow one is also very pretty.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our pond and gardens

Kareen,
Do you know which variety you have? I started a Madam Galen from a 3 inch stem cutting this summer because I was told that Madam galen is not quite as aggressive. Yours is really beautiful. I just hope that mine will not take 5 years before it blooms or I may just end up at the nursery this summer and get a larger one anyway.
Penny

I hope you can access the attached link, because I think you will get some valuable info. on trumpet vine.

I have to admit trumpet vine has been my biggest gardening mistake. I reside in a different climate so it is more aggressive here, but once it takes off...it is virtually impossible to contain. It spreads through underground vines and will pop up yards away from where it is planted. It is now climbing up the brick of my house, and I planted it on a fence 20 feet away. It will also drape itself on anything in its path: fences, trees, trellis', other flowers.

As beautiful as it is, also be aware of its shortcomings. It's definitely not a "plant it, then forget it" type vine.

Hi Mostly Shady,
I do not know what kind mine is ..I bought it from an old couple who sold their extra plants but there were no botanical names listed.The one at my pond has been cut by us to be more tree like .They don't show life until almost June here but once they do they flower quickly and keep flowering until late Sept and sometimes October. I have found with flowering shrubs if I take the leftover water from a boiled dinner(ham and cabbage ,chicken and vegetables and any other variation like that) and throw it at the base of the shrub maybe a few times a year, they tend to get their first blooms earlier than predicted. Make sure your plant is in the sun and be patient...you will get blooms eventually.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our pond and gardens

Planted one against the house about 3 years ago never bloomed but has aggressively taken over that space-runners everywhere pushing under the siding etc. so now trying to eliminate it digging and roundup.

I have had trumpet vine for several years and have not had a spreading problem with it yet. I read a thread awhile back which has scared me about how invasive it is. I'm digging it out next spring to be on the safe side. It is also supposed to be a BEAR to get up all of roots. If I had a larger yard, where spreading was not an issue, I would keep it. This year was the first I'd ever seen a hummingbird in my yard. Humming over a trumpet bloom! It's a shame to have to take it out. I'm going start growing clematis for a vine replacement.

Trumpet vine blooms on old wood, so it may take a couple of years before it gets established enough to flower. When it does bloom, it is fantastic!

Husky - so far my trumpet vine has laughed at Round-Up! Someone told me that Round-Up does not work on woody plants. I tried it anyways, and its not making a dent in it at all. I hope you have better luck with it!

I have kind of surrended to the trumpet vine, and currently I am trying to keep it under control with frequent trimmings, and pulling out runners as best I can. It can tear off siding on a house, and can weave its way through any small space. It found a way into my neighbor's attic.

OMG! In your neighbor's attic! That reminds me of the plant in the movie the Little Shop of Horrors!
Penny

Fammsimm-AWWWWWWWWWW don't tell me that i'll keep digging and digging till it's gone but will try the Roundup too most shoots are green not woody...so wish me luck.

OHhhhh....I didn't really make myself clear here. It wasn't my trumpet vine invading my neighbor's attic, it was the one in her own yard.

If we don't get this under control, it will be like the Little Shop of Horrors. :-)

Good luck Husky! I think I have given up, and will work on containment only. I love this vine, but I just don't have the room to let it roam free.

Okay, I've read this thread because the house I just bought has one of these things climbing all over one side of the garden shed. I'd already figured that it's going to be coming down. So, my question is - when's the best time to cut this thing down? Will cutting it back (down) now, while it's dormant cause new, vigorous growth in the spring? (not what I want) Thanks in advance.

Reviving the trumpet vine thread...

I bought one about three or four years ago on the advice of a woman near Fredonia who assured me it would grow well and bloom in shade. I have a very shady back fence area that sees little to no morning sun and nothing after 10am or so. Well, it bloomed this year, and it's spreading like crazy. Be careful what you wish for when you get one of these. I think I'll be giving it a good trimming to control it, lest it stray into the poor, pathetic-looking clematis' turf. Luckily, the neighbor behind me has nothing but weeds growing behind the fence. Perhaps it can choke out her ground ivy in time. Thank goodness it sees little sun.

Now, a neighbor down the street trained theirs into a tree-like form, and it looks so harmless...

I hate to admit this but I now have 4 trumpet vines. One baby that I started from a stem cutting last summer, one that was sent to me from a friend in Alabama and two from the wny plant swap. 3 are in large containers and one I planted out front at the telephone pole. The ones in containers are there because I haven't exactly figured out a safe place to plant them yet but I really want them to grow and bloom for my hummers so they are in very large containers at the moment and vining like crazy I might add along the fence and along the lattice screen that hides my trash cans.

I have seen several people train them in tree form. The trick is to keep only one main stem and use a decent sized stake to support it for a couple of years.

Penny

Should trumpet vines be pruned back? The nursery where I purchased mine said to cut it down to about 12 inches after the leaves died off. I have it growing up a garden arch--it grew well, but didn't flower. Thanks

Im still doing the Roundup on mine lol.

Trumpet vine near the house...what a mistake. Has anyone noticed carpenter ants all over their trumpet vines? Apparently the wood is an ideal carpenter ant playground.

The "trunk" was 3 inches in diameter when I cut it to the ground. I have plants coming up 10 feet away! I cut mine down in the spring, and I expect I'll still be doing battle next spring....

Reading all of this makes me scared of my trumpet vine! I bought my place last spring and there are two well-established trumpet vines on trellises. I didn't cut them back last fall and need to do so now it's spring. I'm worried that this will stimulate growth and make the plants even more invasive. Any advice on what to do now?