I live in Western Washington and we had a bad wind storm here last month. One of my ornamental (Bradford) pears snapped off about 8 feet above the ground. I know these are not the strongest trees, but it was free!

The problem is, it was a support for my blue potato vine (solanum jasminoides) which still has leaves on it, and had grown up to the top of the pear (over 20 feet). My vine WAS the pride and joy of my garden. Now what do I do with it?

My garden helper will remove the falled top of the pear, and we decided to trim back the vine as tall as possible. But what can I do with a vine that has nothing to support it? There is nothing nearby to attach it to.

Can I move the vine? It is several years old and the main stems are very large. I have no idea what the root system would be like. The vine and tree are in the lawn, not a bed, so I hate the thought of digging up the roots if they are very widespread.

Should I take out the pear and replace it with a sturdier tree?

Should I plant a new tree and a new vine somewhere else?

I once saw a potato vine trained into a self-supporting tree but I have no idea how to do this?

Any suggestions?

Daphne in Tacoma