@flaflwrgrl Thanks for sharing this, Ann! I wish I had seen this when it was originally posted back in 2012! Could have used this to try and control the trumpet vine that was taking over my lawn! I like how it this just goes inside the plant, instead of into and onto the soil. It is also a great way to get rid of something in the lawn. I loved that trumpet vine, but it was taking over everything! Good tip about covering the ends with foil, too!

Thanks Natalie!

I really don't like to use Roundup except in the most extreme circumstances but this was one of those instances and I tried to figure out the least toxic way I possibly could do it. It had traveled underground 30' & was literally growing into the septic tank drain field.

When I bought the offending Clerodendrum there was nothing indicating it was an invasive in south Fl. which is where I was living at the time. I had spoken to many nurseries about it & nothing was ever mentioned about it's invasive nature. Had I known I never would have planted it in the first place. I also did not have access to the internet at that time in order to research & find out just how nasty it could be. I am older & wiser now and hopefully will never make such a mistake again.

I agree totally on the use of Roundup, but sometimes you have to do it to get rid of something like this. Having something growing into a drain field could end up costing you big bucks to fix, so this was a great way to fix that problem. I'll give this a try the next time we're at our house with the trumpet vine. I'd have to rip out a huge section of the yard to get to the roots, and I'll try anything first!

We had already dug & dug & dug several times and that only slowed it down some. I could clearly envision it going straight up the drain field & right on into the septic tank. We had a concrete block wall around the property & the footer for that wall was 2' under the grade and 1' thick. The Clerodendrum sent out underground runners that traveled 3' down to go underneath the footer which was 2 and 1/2 feet wide & then went up on the other side. It was like the plant from outer space trying to take over the world. Too bad too as it's one of the prettiest plants you'll ever run across.

What's the old saying? Desperate times call for drastic measures?

Wow! That plant was on a mission to take over!!! Sad that it had to go, but you're right about drastic measures! I would have done the same exact thing!