How can I stop my trumpet vine from suckering?
The best way to stop a trumpet vine from suckering is to not plant a trumpet vine. They sucker freely and can become a real nightmare if nothing was done to contain them when they were first planted.
Trumpet vines have no manners whatsoever. Their suckers blissfully overrun gardens and spring up in lawns by the hundreds. I've met more than one gardener who has been frustrated to tears by the inability to eradicate these suckers long after the original vine has been ripped out and destroyed.
I had a trumpet vine in the garden of my previous home. It was contained by a cement barrier and I never, ever watered it. It was remarkably well behaved for such a diabolical creature, but even so I still had to pull a couple dozen suckers from my lawn every year. Since I easily pulled ten times as many dandelions from that same lawn, I wasn't too perturbed by yanking out the odd sucker.
If you didn't contain the roots at the time of planting, you have a bit of a problem and one for which there isn't an easy solution.
I'm not sure I've ever heard from anyone who has successfully curtailed the suckers once they've started to take over. I have, however, heard lots of creative attempts at control that have failed. Gardeners have tried everything from smothering the suckers with black plastic to cutting them off and painting the remaining stubs with stump killers, weed killers, or soil sterilizers. Some gardeners have even resorted to duct taping the suckers or pouring cement over them.
Nothing says frustration quite like dumping cement in your garden.
I would not recommend any of those solutions. The best advice I can give you is to pull the suckers out by hand. This may be a neverending process, but you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that you are not the first gardener to plant something that turns out to be a nightmare.
That's why gardening books were invented. Before you plant your latest, greatest garden centre discovery, it's a good idea to read up about it first and if you discover you are in possession of an invasive plant, either take measures to prevent it from getting out of hand or take it back to the point of purchase.
Having said that, trumpet vines do have an appeal. The flowers are beautiful and they are a huge hit with the hummingbirds, so they will continue to make their way into gardens. However, do yourself a favour and put your vine in a container such as a half whiskey barrel or a large concrete planter and restrict the water. Under those circumstances, you have a good shot at maintaining both your sanity and a sucker free property.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
