I think I finally convinced my husband that we need to kill the trumpet vine. It is spreading 30 feet or more in all directions. Mostly into a couple of my flower gardens (because it's nice tilled up soil).

I'm guessing that just cutting down the trumpet vine at the trunk will still allow the runners to keep growing. Is there a way to do something to the main trumpet vine that will eventually kill all the runners?

not an expert but if it is growing on the gate, roundup first then wait a few days then remove the trunk...be careful not to get the roundup on anything other than the vine

I disagree with joso61, I would find another way, Roundup is bad stuff, it's been on the news about it causing some forms of cancer and it's bad for the environment to, why it hasnt been taken off the market yet enrages me
Other members will give you more advice
Sorry joso61

I'm thinking that nothing short of a nuclear holocaust will kill a trumpet vine............they're pretty tenacious. I think that maybe cutting the thing off just above the ground at the main trunk and spray with brush killer might be the thing to do. Brush killer is pretty harsh. If it is growing from other shoots, perhaps a good spray of roundup too to take care of the offshoots?

Anna, you hit the nail on the head (about a nuclear holocaust). The birds LOVE the trumpet vine but oh my...what a nightmare.

Do you have any brand names for the brush killer?

I had a trumpet vine that never flowered for me (I think it was not in enough sun). I just cut it back to the ground, dug out the roots, and then snipped or dug out any stray suckers as they showed up. No poisons. Why not try a less-toxic approach first?

Sue, I do not. I have not used it, but we cut some trees out of fencerows for a neighbor when we burned wood and he gave us a spray bottle of brush killer and said "spray this on the cut part". Been too many years ago for me to remember.

My stupid trumpet vine seems to not want to grasp onto the old power pole I have it planted close to. I tied it up...........wind blew it down. Last week I got the Spousal Unit to help...........I held the branches where I wanted them and he pounded in some fence staples. Not tight, just enough to hold them there. I may go put a couple more in after it freezes and the leaves all fall off so I can see what I'm doing.

Mine is planted in such a place that anything undesireable can be mowed off with the lawn mower. Same deal with my wisteria.

Good luck, Sue.

Chinese wisteria is the devil incarnate, trumpet vines are a native vine that is only a problem when it is near tilled soil.
If you could prevent it from reaching the flower beds, it's really a great plant for the hummingbirds!

Most plants need time for the leaves to feed the roots, so... If you cut it down and kept it mowed or weedeated, probably die.

If you don't kill the roots on the Trumpet Vine, you haven't killed it. Cut it down and carefully paint the trunk with full strength brush killer (you don't want to get the brush killer on the soil). If you do it in the fall when the leaves just start to yellow, it works better. Paint it about once a week until the plants should be completely dormant. You will still have to do battle every time a piece surfaces. Those plants coming up in other flower beds are not seedlings, they are suckers.

Just as I suspected...no "easy" fix. I hate to get rid of it because the humming birds LOVE it and all the other birds love it summer and winter. It's so pretty to see the cardinals in there during the winter. But I just can't take digging out all those suckers in the flower beds. Dozens and dozens every year. There is a large slab of cement right next to it. The cement has actually cracked an raised up a couple inches. I wouldn't be surprised if it is from the suckers running under the cement to reach to the flower bed on the other side (because they ARE there). It was planted in the center of a TV antenna tower about 10 years ago. We will have a time just getting it out of the tower.

I know I'll have to battle the suckers for years to come. But if I'm diligent I should, eventually, win the battle; don't you think?

- Buy a jug of Bayer Advanced Heavy Brush Killer
- Cut the vine close to the ground
- Stuff the vine into the jug

The vine will suck up the brush killer just like it does water. It may not get all of the runners. Just repeat the process as necessary.

You can do that with Round Up too. That way you're not contaminating the soil and risking surrounding plants to overspray. Or you can just pour the concentrate on the freshly cut stump. Either product or method must be used immediately after cutting to take up the liquid before the cut can callus.

Thank you Rick and Carol, and all of you for the fantastic suggestions. I'm glad to know that this IS the right time of the year to start thinking about doing it.

I think the only time to not do it is when it is in bloom as you run the risk of contaminating the nectar. Give it a go now, and retreat in early spring when it's starting to grow.

I will be doing this too. After a good rain, sometimes you can pull them up. I have pulled and cut an the blame thing still lives and runs. I have thought about using a torch and burning them an see if that works. I hope you find a successful way to get rid of them. If so please share.
Good Luck,
Leonda

VERY GOOD point Rick !!!!

GrowingCrazy:
For years I have been digging them out of the flower beds. It will NOT stop them. I'm pretty sure burning them will not kill them either. It may delay them and set them back. Most likely will just make the root stronger at that point. Just like dandelions when you pull them out and don't get all the root.

The aggravating part of this whole thing is that when I planted it 10+ years ago...I WAS warned but didn't listen. Stupid ME

Lol Sue, I can relate. I planted one and it died, lucky me, but the birds have dropped seeds and they have taken off! I have one that s right by the side of my house, in a flowerbed, that has actually grown up, the meter, into the siding and out of the roof of the house It happened one summer when I was really sick and wasn't getting out of the house much. I have cut and pulled and have gotten it out of the siding/roof, thank goodness, but the runners from it has traveled to where my hostas are and it has nearly strangled one to death. I am about ready to move all my plants to another location and poison that area for a year.

GrowingCrazy.........you think a year would do it??? Someone at a garden center told me "If you have a tiny piece of root in the ground, it will take off".

So interesting how different plants plague different areas. I found trumpet vine to be a wimp growing, and easy to remove when I got tired of its non-performance. Same with wisteria. It likewise never bloomed, so out it came.
Couple seasons of pulling little pop-ups, then poof, gone. Makes me wonder what is so drastically different between the east and west coasts.