i live in west texas, can anyone tell me when & how to plant trumpet vine/vines. I want it to climb and curl around longggg back fence . I want one so bad . I tried in the past twice to plant pieces from someone elses but mine never grow. Is it best to plant from seed or what and when to plant . would love for it to grow this year. any help appreciated jack
jack1742: You might try starting cuttings in water, but, currently, you might have to do this indoors (January). Typically, here in mid Florida, a green tip cutting dipped in Rootone, and placed in a soiless rooting medium that is kept just 'damp' seems to work very well. As you might expect from a vigorous vine that doesn't have any 'slow down' period, these things can become 'the vine from hell'. We have older homes locally that are completely covered with them. They are pretty, though.
chuck, thanks for the info. i have the perfect situation for those trumpet vines, would u suggest the cutting or buying seeds??? and like how many do would u plant for a 160ft fence line. any help appreciated jack
Jack: Three plants are currently covering 40 feet of chain link fence. The 'wad' is 5 feet thick and 8 feet high. It is chopped back severely each year. For quicker results, I guess I would use plants to start my coverage. If you have the patience, seeds will do just as well, and be far more economical.
Great vine. I still miss the one my mom grew on the side of an old shed, when I was a child. I've been wondering what to grow up the pole that supports the power line to our home. It's a treated 4" x 8" post, about 16' tall. That would be a great plant to grow on the post. If the post needs replacement, I could just start over.
Jack, if you are referring to campsis radicans, the best way to start this vine is with cuttings. It can take 5 to 7 years before it gets it's roots established enough to bloom and really start to grow. Once it does, watch out! Eventually it will pop up in your neighbor's yard, your neighbor's neighbor's yard, etc. The underground roots can extend 100' and be as deep as 4' underground. You might want to read this thread before you decide to plant it. http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=19829 Newt
I have a question. I have heard before about the trumpet vine being so aggressive. I have one in my willows around my pond and that's the only one I know of on my 100 acres and my mil 60 acres. I know I don't have great soil but is it so bad even this invasive plant won't grow? I've got seeds in pots right now because I wish I had more.
Kossetx, the invasiveness is from the root system, not so much seed dispersal. It does take this vine quite a while to become established. It took about 10 years after planting seeds before the sprouts from the root system began to appear. I'm not certain exactly how long as it was planted from seed before I moved in. I do know that the former owner just threw out the seeds and let whatever sprouted grow. Newt
In our zone 4b, have had a Trumpet Vine up against a 10 foot high rock wall for many years. But all it wants to do is grow straight up and over and keep walking away. I've tried to tie new growth branches sideways in more of a fanshape (hard to tie to rock, but plastic shower curtain hooks attached to fence staples (gently hammered into mortar between rocks) did work but only for a foot or so. Then it went straight up and over again. Hummingbirds all over it, but blossoms are always only at the top 3or 4 feet of vine. Every 3 or 4 years, hack plant off at 1 foot high. So far haven't had suckering problems. Whereas my ONE virginnia creeper has covered nearly 100 feetl, with breathtaking fall color visible from the house.
