Advice request for Trumpet Vine
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Idaho
Posts: 11,375
My Trumpet Vine had a baby come up about 10 feet from the original vine. I really love this vine, and I always have 3 or 4 Hummingbirds come each summer for the nectar. I have never trimmed or cut it back. I don't even have to water it because the roots go under the sidewalk. The baby has a wasp nest above it, and I need to spray it. Can I cut it back like you can do for a Clematis without hurting it? Then I could just cover it with a garbage bag and spray the wasp nest. It is a huge nest of wasps, so I want to kill them before winter. There are also grapes, but I don't really care if the grape vines die. Any help you can give would be very much appreciated. I really like the Trumpet Vines, so I want to do what is best for them.
#2
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The middle of an IL cornfield
Posts: 7,014
I know nothing about Idaho weather and such, but in Illinois trumpet vines can't be killed. You can weed whack them to bits and they come right back. They just grow like weeds if you let them, so I would think you could cut it back however you like.
#5
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Idaho
Posts: 11,375
Originally Posted by Moonpi
What are you spraying that nest with? No insecticide I have ever used kills plants.
#6
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: SE Iowa
Posts: 1,583
From my experience, you probably couldn't kill trumpetvine if you tried. If you'd feel better covering it, then do so. You can cut it anytime, as often as you wish, and it will continue to grow and sprout up in other spots.
#7
In about 3 years you'll be asking us how to kill that crazy vine because its taking over. We had ours for 3 years, it split the boards on our pergola, was growing under the porch and popping up everywhere. So down it came, dug it up, burned it, poured weed killer in the whole. It came back, everywhere. Poured salt in the hole, it came back. 3 years later we are still fighting this vine. You cant hurt it, do what you need to do, it'll never even know you've trimmed it, but be careful it might start growing on you!
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Only the Shadow Knows........
Posts: 968
We call it "Cow itch vine". Raid is pretty deadly stuff. I've gotten the wasp spray on stuff and killed leaves but never the whole plant. "Cow itch" you would need to pull up from the roots and chop into little pieces to kill.
#9
Originally Posted by leatheflea
So down it came, dug it up, burned it, poured weed killer in the whole. It came back, everywhere. Poured salt in the hole, it came back. 3 years later we are still fighting this vine. You cant hurt it, do what you need to do, it'll never even know you've trimmed it, but be careful it might start growing on you!
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