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When we first moved here, 7 yrs ago, my late husband built me a beautiful cedar arbor. I spent weeks deciding what vine I wanted to plant on either side of it.

One day, we were driving to town and I saw a telephone pole covered all the way to the top with a beautiful, blooming vine. I thought, "That's it! Look how vibrant it is!" I should have been thinking, "Not that one! Look how aggressive it is. That's a tall pole!"

I found out it was a Trumpet Vine. Off I go to buy TWO of these.

The first year, it was perfect. I posted pics here, it was so pretty. That winter, I decided to cut it down quite a bit, so that all the growth the following spring would be new. Each winter/spring of pruning this got harder and harder, as it kept getting more aggressive and thicker.

And then. My husband called me outside one day to point out how, seemingly overnight, the vine sent a shoot out to the gutter on that side of the house, many feet away. Uh, oh. It had already started choking the gutter, and was up to the roof of the house. Each week, we noticed new vines popping up all over the place---to a bed on the OTHER side of the house, wrapping around mature shrubs 10 feet away from the mother plant, etc. I laid in bed at night, imagining I could hear the vines growing over the house as we slept.

This past spring, I had enough and decided to cut the vine/tree down to the ground, and kill it. It was a nightmare getting it off the arbor, and cutting it down. But I did it, and sprayed the stumps, and walked away, satisfied.

The next day, I noticed shoots coming up in the yard. And up the gutters again. And around my decorative wagon wheel. And up each piece of my picket fence.

Since then, I have been fighting a losing battle with this Horrible Mutant Vine from He__. My wheelbarrow got a flat, so I parked it just inside my fence(next to the arbor) until I can get someone to help me with it......after one week, it is nearly covered in Mutant Vine. I'm cutting shoots out of every single flower bed on a half acre lot. I'll bet my neighbors are getting shoots, but have no idea where they're coming from. And I'm not telling.

I think this plant should be banned from the world. I'm certain that if I abandoned this house for some reason, and no one lived here for a year or so, this de.vil vine would have the house completely covered.

Thanks for reading. I'm off to try to get the wheelbarrow free from IT.

Yes, they are invasive & agressive in certain areas.
Since you are in Texas...don't plant any wisteria either! It will do about the same thing.
And if you see any asian climbing ferms...ki.ll them! Also, privit hedge! And tallow tree (aka, popcorn tree).

If you think you find something you want to plant...give your county extension office a call before you do it to see how it does in your area. They also probably have a list of the invasives in your area and might be able to give you some pointers on how to get rid of the trumpet vine.

Thanks, Karen, I so wish I had done more research on this horrible plant before. That's a great idea about calling my county extension office. My plant bibles are anything by Howard Garrett, he's usually very vocal about not planting certain things, but no warning about this beast. And thanks for the heads-up about Wisteria, I've been thinking of one for another area, I'll skip it!

I'm going to replace the dev.il vine with a Coral Honeysuckle, one of the most perfect and well-behaved vines I've ever had.

I am absolutley hysterical with laughter reading your post...Not at your delema but the story. I do believe that these plants could take over the world!!! My poor son and his wife are batteling the same problem. They moved into a house nearly 2 years ago that has the dev*l vine.There are shoots popping up all over the back yard.
If you find a way to get rid of it once and for all...PLEASE share

Oh NO!

Just when you think it's safe to go back in the house or take a vacation, that plant will be growing some more by the sound of your post.

Did you dig out the underneath roots? You may need to call in a licensed tree man. They are allowed to use different chem*i*cals to K*I*L*L it.

(That was only way we could get rid of Bra*zillian Peppers trees we had growing.)

brownthumb , I'll share if I find a solution, I so hope I do! I'm sorry your son and wife are battling this, too!

Beau's Rose, you're right, I may have to call a pro. And I wonder if I could get my money back from the shyster's who sold me these monsters?

Oh...you made my morning, starting out laughing. So easy for me to laugh but you are the one fighting it!!!
I had one quite a few yrs ago, pulled it out and still every spring see little shoots coming up. But mine isn't the scary guy that yours is maybe because of being up north, the winters kill it. I will send some snow this winter if you'd like

Mine is healthy but hasn't moved & hardly grew in many years! My friend a few streets over had one for 9 years before it bloomed & only a few feet tall at that time! I'm still waiting for one bloom!

About 20 years ago a Trumpet Vine, "Campsis radicans", self seeded in a patch of ground by the church parking lot and shortly grew up the utility pole until the electric company came in an cut it down. We then decided to remove the rest and have been working on doing that for the last 10 years. We still find where it is trying hard to reestablish itself, weekly.
This is a very invasive plant that many are recommending against planting anywhere.

I think its invasiveness (sp?) depends on the climate/zone in which it is grown. We have some in our area (zone 6) that don't seem to be a problem. I guess the cold winters keep it in check!

Virginia creeper is just as bad. I have it coming up all over the yard with all the rain we've had. Never had much trouble with it before!!
I'll sure not plant trumpet vine. I've seen alot of it here too. Thanks for the info!

MsM, I have a wisteria but it takes constant care (cutting) to keep it in check. And after it has bloomed in the spring, I have to watch & remove all the seed pods so it doesn't scatter seeds all over. At least the pods are big (they get about 6" long) and are fairly easy to remove. But mine is trained (sort of) into a tree type shape so I can reach all of it.
Where it grows wild across the road from me, it is starting to kill the trees it has attached to. It will eventually choke them or just simple cover them up so the tree doesn't get any sun...I've seen that in several areas around here.
But I knew what I was getting into when I planted it. I've already told my DH that if I pass before he does, one of the first things he is to do it to kill that thing! Cause I know he won't keep it cut back like I do. And if I get to the point I can't do it...it will be gone too!

quote:

Originally posted by shook29:
I think its invasiveness (sp?) depends on the climate/zone in which it is grown. We have some in our area (zone 6) that don't seem to be a problem. I guess the cold winters keep it in check!

We are z 6 too,and it has nothing to do with our cold winters...My sons lawn is riddled with this dev*l plant

yikes! let that be a lesson to us to do our homework before adding plants to our garden(s). wish i'd done that before i planted 4 o'clock seeds. now i can't get rid of the darn things. but at least they are not as invasive as your vines. shhhhh.. don't tell the neighbors. when they mention these pesky plants, say 'yeah, i'm having the same problem too.'

Sounds like there are plants on steroids...everywhere! LOL!
I have a few of those bright orange trumpet vines growing up the tall 80 foot pines....and reaching the top! I also have the Asian climbing ferns and the popcorn(tallow) trees, but they are not posing a problem here. I love their fall colors. We have Muscadine grape growing almost everywhere and lots of Virginia Creeper among other vines. The Skunk vine doesn't sound pretty but it is in flower. I have those Butterfly Pea and Cypress vines too. All of these grow wild on the property.

I must admit though the grape and trumpet vines can get as big as your arm...we've cut down a few when we first moved here. The most dangerous are the thousands of Smilax vines with their large sharp thorns that will rip you to shreads.

At least I don't have Kudzu.....yet!

I hear ya girl. I battle trumpet, crossvine AND virginia creeper!! They are trying to strangle all my trees!

Thanks, everyone, love your replies, I'm cracking up here!

(Except I'm sorry for those of you dealing with de.vil vines and plants of your own!)

And I appreciate the warnings of other invasive plants. I'm going to be so much more careful from now on!

This reminds me of one of my fav Dave Barry quotes: "“Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons.”

What happened to my messsage?????

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jan.C,

zone9lady posted about smilax (aka, cat claw), we have that too!
At another place I used to live I dug up some of the tubers....they were almost as big as basketballs. Those cat claws had never been cut down that I knew of & had grown for years!

Yep, smilax is nasty stuff. We dug most of them up when we first moved in, but the last two or three years, they've decided to grow again. Only way to get rid of them is to get that stupid tuber.

When reading your story, I thought to myself, I so well know what she's going through! I battled the same vine years ago when we moved into a new place. Well, we've since moved from that place...only to leave that owner with the battle!

Mandy

quote:

Originally posted by ga.karen:
zone9lady posted about smilax (aka, cat claw), we have that too!
At another place I used to live I dug up some of the tubers....they were almost as big as basketballs. Those cat claws had never been cut down that I knew of & had grown for years!

That's a good name for them "Cat Claws" They sure do dig into your skin. DH and I just call the tubers potatoes. Whenever we are digging a new garden or trying to clear an area we will dig them up and say, "Hey look at the size of this potato!" Haven't found a basketball size one yet...if I do I'll take pictures.

13 yrs ago my son had moved back home temporarily and planted a trumpet vine on the split rail fence in our back yard. It was just a tiny stick with 3 root hairs. I have developed a love-hate relationship with it over the years. I cut it back, as much as possible usually in the fall, but sometimes, like last year, didn't get around to it, so I did it in May this year just as it was starting to leaf out. It looks more like a tree than a vine. It has a thick trunk intertwined in the fence liner and 4 large branches (not cuttable). I try to keep any volunteers from elsewhere along the fence and flower bed underneath. Actually I think the wild violets have choked out other vines there--and I have been battling the violets with even less success than the vine. The lawnmower keeps the lawn suckers in check. The roots go down to China. You can't kill it, you can only hope to contain it, lol. But when it is in full bloom and the hummers are swarming--it is worth all the aggravation. I have also seen hummingbird moths on the blooms--very cool! Fortunately, my son knew to put it far from the house so home envelopement has never been a problem.

Oh My Goodness - I've been busy canning and just now getting to read this.. I am laughing so hard the tears are making it difficult to see the screen as I type. Miz M - I can sympathize with you every bit as much as the others have. Let me tell you a little funny on myself (and how stupid I am).

Trumpet Vine grows wild here....we call it Cow Itch Vine! It takes over fields, electric poles, trees and anything else in it's path. One year I saw this vine in a catalog called Hummingbird vine, said to be a hummer magnet. So I ordered two of them...yes two. We had a split rail fence at the time so I planted the little sticks by the posts with visions of them twining along the posts and the rails. Still stupid and ignorant, I did not pay attention as they leafed out and grew the next spring..in fact my blonde lightbulb did not come on until the danged things bloomed. OH NO, NOT - Cow Itch Vine!!! Yep........I had paid good money for something I could have dug up out of the pasture, from the side of the road, or just about anywhere around. They did attract hummingbirds and were beautiful blooming on the fence, until I started fighting them in the beds on the opposite side of the house and DH would mow over sprouts in the lawn. The split rail and the vines have been gone for at least ten years now.........but guess what I dug up out of the flower bed this spring where the corner post was - yep, a trumpet vine sprout!

Lesson Learned. Two other things you will never get rid of, at least in the south....Sweet Autumn Clematis and Passion Vine! Ask me how I know.

ve

You need five things to kill it. Roundup, Wood stakes, a few solo cups, duct tape, and rubber bands. step one, duct tape solo cups to the stakes. step two, place stake into ground at different point along where the vine is. step three, add a couple of inches of roundup to the cups, step four, take the ends of the vine and place into the roundup, step five, rubber band the vine so it stays submerged in the roundup.

Still trying to get mine to grow??! My friend waited 9 years to get one set of blooms... So we are nothing like the south in soil or temp.

After several years, mine had THREE flowers and the next year none again...
It took me several years to eradicate it....I think?
Unfortunately it was along the woods and coming up in my driveway, and everywhere else, just as you said. SEVERAL feet away and VERY persistent!

NOT worth the trouble. At least in my area. I've seen it grown else more tropical and covered with flowers and seemingly contained. It's hard to tell what the owners of those plants are going through with the travelling roots?

No thank you! They can really go to town down here...they can kill trees if left to their own devices!
Sticking the end of a vine in roundup won't do a whole lot. Roundup needs to be applied to the leaves or thin bark of plants for it to kill them. If you have cut something off...you can paint the cut & remaining stem...most of the time that will work.

And I hope ya'al noticed that this thread was started last year!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ga.karen,

last year?.... well, poo... I thought the Devine Ms M was still on the forum!!.... rats!!...

as for the trumpet vine.... my neighbor has one on the fence we share.... I have battled that thing the whole 17 yrs we've been here.... and yes, the fact that it appeared on the OTHER side of the house is amazing!!.... I've only had good luck with constant removal at the main plant... the little sprouts pop up everywhere, still.... I've got the kids and the hubby trained that if they see it, they yank it.... I may win yet......maybe.....