Anyone ever tried (and succeeded) in getting a Trumpet Vine under control?

[Siwsan]

There is one in my back lot that I've been battling every Spring. It's taken over my garden fence (which, to be honest, might be all that's holding that section together) and springing up EVERYWHERE.

I've read that boiling water can kill some of the vine but that's just not a viable option. I've been using snipping off and using Brush Kill on the new growth and have cut back some massive vines.

Any suggestions, short of torching it? The flowers are beautiful and attract Humming Birds so I'd like to keep a tamed version.

[ret5hd]

1. High grade plutonium usually works.

Sometimes not though.

[Siwsan]

2. Yup - pretty much what I'm thinking

I have finally managed to cut it back far more than in past years. I think I'll MAYBE get control of the main vine, and the lawn mower helps with the far flung sprigs but it's a constant battle because it's springing up in my veg garden!

[marble falls]

3. It can be done. Deternine your containment area treat it like like you would bamboo.

https://www.thespruce.com/stop-spreading-of-trumpet-vines-2132896

However, despite needing minimal care, trumpet vines are still a high-maintenance plant to have in your garden. The maintenance that will require the most time and effort on your part is to prune back your trumpet vines aggressively to keep them under control. Also, pull up any new shoots that pop up from the soil as you spot them, and be sure to regularly monitor for them. Also, remove the seed pods before they open and let their seeds spill out into the soil for germination.


Pruning

It is almost impossible to prune this plant too much due to its vigor. Trumpet vines bloom on new stems, so prune early in the spring before growth starts. Cut the plant back to nearly ground level, leaving only a few buds. This kind of aggressive annual pruning is the best way to keep the plant in check.

[Siwsan]

4. Thanks. I filled 2 yard waste bags with what I cut, today

I could have filled on more but it's a really warm day and I wore myself out. One more section to go and the main plant will, at least, look maintained and be much easier to mow around.

Interesting about the seed pods. I'll be on alert, this year.

[marble falls]

6. If I'd only learned that gardening is a major operation when I thought I knew all I needed to know.

[Fullduplexxx]

5. From the internet

How to Contain Trumpet Vine If you are not ready to kill trumpet vine, but are just looking to contain trumpet vine, there are many things you can do to accomplish this. The first thing you can do to contain trumpet vine is to place it in a container.
To plant trumpet vine in the ground, simply dig a hole and place a sturdy container into the hole. Fill the container with soil and plant the trumpet vine in the container. This will contain trumpet vine plants by limiting where their roots can go.
The other way how to contain trumpet vine is to dig a trench around it once a year. This trench will need to be 1 foot wide (0.3 m.) and at least 1 foot deep (0.3 m.). The trench should be dug at least 3 feet (1 m.) from the base of the trunk to avoid damaging the trumpet vine plant with cutting the roots too short.

How to Kill Trumpet Vine If you are someone who has had a trumpet vine invade your yard, you may be wondering what kills trumpet vines? Many times gardeners try killing trumpet vine with a single application of an herbicide and are dismayed when the plant returns as strong as ever. Because trumpet vine is such a rugged plant, persistence is really the key when it comes to taking steps to get rid of trumpet vine.

There are two basic methods for killing trumpet vine. Digging to Kill Trumpet Vine The trumpet vine spreads mostly by the roots, so eliminating the roots will go a long way towards killing trumpet vine. Dig up the plant and as much of the root system as you can find. It has a large root system and, usually, pieces of roots will remain in the soil and the plant will regrow from these. Because of this, you will want to keep a sharp eye out for regrowth. As soon as you see any shoots, dig these up as well.

Herbicide to Get Rid of Trumpet Vine You can use various herbicides for killing trumpet vine as well. On the chemical side, a non-selective type is often used. Cut the plant off at the ground and paint the fresh cut stump with full strength weed killer. Again, this will most likely not kill the entire root system, so keep an eye out for further growth in the coming months.
If you see any shoots regrowing, respray them immediately with herbicide. On the organic side, you can use boiling water as an herbicide to kill trumpet vines. Again, cut the vine at the ground and treat the ground 3 feet (1 m.) around the base with boiling water. Boiling water is effective, but some roots will escape and shoots will regrow. Keep an eye out for these and pour boiling water on them as you find them. How to kill trumpet vine is something that can seem near impossible, but it can be done. Being diligent in your efforts for killing trumpet vine, which every you choose, will be rewarded with a trumpet vine free garden.

Note: Chemical control should only be used as a last resort, as organic approaches are more environmentally friendly.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Tips To Get Rid Of Trumpet Vine In The Garden https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/trumpet-vine/kill-trumpet-vine.htm

[Botany]

7. Do you want to control it or kill it?

I am in the biz.

[Siwsan]

9. At this point, probably just control it.

I'm starting to remove it from the fence and just trying to keep the main plant in one place. I sawed through a bunch of really thick stalks, killing off one of the biggest spreads. Things really got out of control when I was dealing with a lot of family illness/deaths and the aftermath. Then, last Summer I realized I had a MONSTER on my hands.

I've been pulling up any new, remote growth and cutting the slightly bigger sprouts and then painting them with 'Brush Kill'.

[Botany]

10. Cut the whole thing back to the main part of the

... the plant comes from the ground. You might want to wait until after it is done blooming....good native hummingbird and native pollinators magnet..... easier said than done. You will almost always have some new starts coming from the roots of the plant hoe them down when you see them or paint the leaves of the starts with glyphosate and a foam paint brush. This will not hurt the plant itself. Good luck. I have been dealing with a trumpet vine on one if my projects for 6 + years now.

[Siwsan]

11. Thanks for the info!

I think that once I get this last section cleared of new growth, it will be easier to keep on top of the situation. Well, HOPEFULLY.

[Botany]

12. Not good on wooden fences.

The woody vine expands and ruin a fence, trellis, gutter, and so on. Autumn Clematis, American Bittersweet, or Dutchman's Pipe might be a better choice.

[jmbar2]

13. What about blackberry bushes?

I live next to an open field covered in them. They send prolific armies into my garden space. The more I cut, the more they spread.

Thanks.

[Botany]

14. Blackberry Bushes are really tough to control .... in many ecological restoration projects they ....

.... are seen as non native invasive plant and are controlled chemically. Oregon and California
list them as noxious weeds. The problem with them is that they are spread by runners ... lateral
underground roots, canes they grow up and then flop over and then root out, and by seed when the
fruit is eaten by birds and critters and then the seed is passed through the gut and out the animal's
butt and after it has been attacked by the critter's enzymes which helps to get the seed ready to go.

Suggestions:

1 mow a strip about 6 to 8' weed along the border between your property and the one with the
blackberries and keep the blackberries killed out in that strip.

2 Mechanically and chemically control them at first on your property .... mow them off @ as close to
the ground as you can get and then treat the new sprouts with glyphosate or another non selective
herbicide. mark the area and come back and either hoe and or treat the new sprouts when the are not
>6" tall with glyphosate or another non selective herbicide. Do not buy premixed stuff you are just
paying for water. I believe Prairie Moon Nursery in MN is now handling a newer non selective herbicide
to be used instead of glyphosate. Others have used horticultural vinegar too.

Note on using chemicals .... you can not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The supportive capacity
of our ecosystems and native pollinators are under huge attack by non native invasive species. Got a better
way I am all ears but this is a fight our future .... now the earth until it is swallowed by the sun will always
be here but man not so much.

3 in a vegetable garden area tilling the soil also can help to control Rubus sp. (blackberry)

4 Nature hates a vacuum so if you remove something replace it with a native plant .... where possible

5 Join the Xerces Society and ask if they have somebody in your area or contact your local soil conservation
service or district.

note: I do have a customer who I prune and feed her black raspberry and she pays me in fruit.

[jmbar2]

15. Hugely helpful

Thanks so much!

I'm just a tenant in a condo on the coast, so most of the field out front is coastal grasses. I put in a small raised veggie garden, with landscape fabric, sand and gravel underneath. Those blackberries are pushing up right under it.

I have seen some low-lying, drought resistant shrub with bright blue flowers all over town. I'm taking cuttings, and planning to slowly mow the weeds down and plant with the shrub. It seems to block everything out.

The blackberries take advantage of the wild grasses and spring up all around them, so maybe I will kill two birds with one stone if I can overplant with something that blocks other plants.

You really know your stuff. Thanks again.

[Botany]

16. make sure to i.d. the shrub before you propagate it ... DO NOT PROPAGATE ANY NON NATIVE PLANT

The coastal grasses might be very good ... part of a dune community (ecosystem). If so you want to protect them.
If native they are not weeds.

Dig along the edge of your raised garden and cut the blackberry's roots/runners and treat the cross
sections with glyphosate .... make sure not to get any in your garden.

If you have a county extension agent or local soil and water district office or a local dept. of
natural resources go "chat 'em up." They tend to be really good people.

[jmbar2]

17. good advice

The blue bush is all over town, so I am assuming it is native. It's also sold in stores, but easy to propagate.

The coastal grasses indeed do stabilize the sandy soil, so mostly it stays. I just need to create a barrier between it and the garden. But the blackberries are rascals...

[Botany]

18. post its name ... latin if possible ..... and where you live and i can tell you if it is a native

Last edited Fri May 21, 2021, 11:00 AM - Edit history (1)

n/t

[jmbar2]

19. I'm pretty sure it is a Lithadora Diffusa

Here's a pic

[Botany]

20. Do not plant or propagate it. Where do you live? General location

It is native to scrubby areas and woodland margins from southwestern Europe along the Mediterranean to Turkey and south to Morocco.

[jmbar2]

21. I'm on the Oregon coast - Newport

The soil here is sandy and poor. But it is heavily featured in landscapes around town.

[Botany]

22. Plant one of these

[jmbar2]

23. hahaha

The sea lions live down the way from me about a mile or so.

We get only the lonely bachelor sea lions here. There are no females, or at least they don't stick around long. So these guys hang out on the docks and grouse at each other all day. You can hear their barking all over town.

Very comical.

[Kali]

8. I kill them.

Mind you I am trying to get one to grow. between the climatic factors here and my forgetting to water, under control means pretty much dead.