Getting Rid Of Trumpet Vines

Question:

I have 2 trumpet vines in a garden with many other beautiful perennials. When I planted them I was young and dumb and now I would like to know how to get rid of them. They pop up all over and I just keep cutting them off at the stem because I don't want to get rid of my other plants. Any ideas?

Hardiness zone: 6a

Peg from Cecil, OH

Answer:

For some gardeners, trumpet vines are beauty and the beast all in one plant. Trumpet vines propagate three ways: by seed, by rooting wherever the plants touch the ground and by underground runners. Because of this, you're going to have to take a three-pronged approach to stopping all of these voluntary seedlings from popping up.

1. First of all, deadhead and collect (remove) all of the mother vines' seeds.
2. Second, make sure you keep the parent plants pruned to stop them from touching the ground and rooting.
3. Third, the best way to deal with the underground runners pushing up new seedlings is to keep digging them up.

Unfortunately, as long as you have parent plants, you're always going to have runners. Herbicides are not effective because the treatments will only last until the parent plants send out new shoots. If you want to get rid of the shoots for good, you're going to have to dig up both of the mother plants and replace them with something less invasive. Even after that, you can expect to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 6 years pulling up any new shoots that emerge.

Eventually the plant will give up, but it's going to take an awful lot of persistence and patience on your part. Even if you don't want to get rid of both vines, by getting rid of just one you'll theoretically be eliminating at least half your problem.

Good luck!
Ellen