Hi, Gracie

It is too early. Mine hasn't really taken off yet. I have trumpet vine fighting with honeysuckle and sweet autumn clematis on my fence and archway. Right now the honeysuckle is winning, but the trumpet vine will get crazy once it warms up some more. I believe there are some varieties that aren't as invasive as others, so I would look for one of those. Someone on this forum will know what that is. Mine was already here when I moved in.

Gracie,

It is still too early. Mine just have tiny leaf buds just beginning to open up.

Campsis radicans "Madame Galens' is somewhat less invasive than the native one. It has the standard orange flowers. There also is a yellow-flowered one called 'Flava'. It is not too invasive if planted in very heavy clay soil that dries like bricks in summer and turns mucky when wet. (That's where I have it planted.) I don't know how it would do in ordinary soil.

I've linked you some googled photos of trumpet creeper. If you want to see any of the photos enlarged, just click on the thumbnail.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Many photos of trumpet creeper vine

Mine are leafing out prodigiously! My neighbor is a campsis donor. He's been trying to get rid of it for several years now. I think the newer cultivars are less invasive that the species.

One thing I noticed last year and pointed out to him, is the seedpods, hence the reason I have so much of it coming up in my yard, too. The seed pods were about a foot long, and just full of seed. I told him if he would cut them off before they ripen, we wouldn't have as much around. But, he left them on anyway, so I will continue digging them up.

If they were pretty vines, I'd twist and shout. But, we have a very shady neighborhood, so 1 or 2 flowers for every 50' of vine, is nothing short of lunacy.

Extremely hard to eradicate once you get it started in the garden, so you might want to consider another vine.

Dawn, I have almost the same combo you do, trumpet vine and Sweet Autumn Clematis. Wish I had never planted that stuff. It seeds everywhere, by fall, I'm too tired to prune the seeds before the get ripe.

Now, Virginia Creeper I don't mind....because of the moths it attracts. Several different sphinx, or hummingbird moths, use it as a host plant, so I won't be without it.

Susan

I picked up some seeds for Cardinal Climber Vine, Scarlet Runner Bean, and Four O'Clocks. Any opinions or experience with those? I also have the standard blue Morning Glories.

I am planning to try them along a fence along the road that gets sun for the first half of the day. I have no experience with these whatsoever.

Susan,

You know, I never once have cut off the seed pods and I've never had a trumpet creeper come up from seed. Maybe it is because my trumpet creepers are in the worst possible clay soil....so maybe it stays so wet during the rainy season that the seeds rot before they can sprout. (In this case, I guess that is a good thing.)

The worst way to try to get rid of trumpet creeper is to cut it off at the ground, because they sprouts come up everywhere from the large, rampant root system.....up to 50' away from the mother plant. It is even worse with the native ones. So, if your neighbor is trying to get rid of it that way, those plants sprouting everywhere may be coming off the root system of his original plant or plants.

Texas gardening guru (horticulturist, author, photographer, garden show producer, radio show host and all-around great guy) Neil Sperry once answered the question "How tall does trumpet creeper grow?" with an answer that still makes me laugh. His answer (paraphrased, but essentially contains the gist of what he said all those years ago): "It grows 6' feet higher than the nearest support." Isn't that the truth!

Virginia creeper I have a absolutely everywhere. Acres and acres of it as an understory plant in the woods, where it likes to climb the trees too. I do have some on the north side of the house, and have had it in the veggie garden. After 9 years, though, I am finally about to get all of it out of the veggie garden.....I think. As you know, I love the sphinx moths too.

Scott,

All three of those plants are lovely. I like to grow cardinal climber on the fence around the garden. It does reseed and become a pest sometimes, so be sure you only plant it in a area where reseeding won't be a huge problem.

Scarlet runner bean is gorgeous, but tends to play out in the heat a little. I prefer purple hyacinth bean vine. They bloom later than the scarlet runner beans but produce more blooms and foliage in the heat and absolutely stop traffic when in bloom. Of course, as much moisture as you have, the scarlet runner beans may last longer for you than they do for me. One thing....if you are growing scarlet runner bean for the flowers, you need to remove the seed pods after the blooms finish. Otherwise, they won't make additional blooms.

Just to make you drool, I'll link a googled photo of purple hyacinth bean vines in bloom.

Add moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) to your morning glories, and you'll have their lovely, large, sweetly-scented flowers in the evening to early morning and the morning glory blooms in the early morning to mid-day. It is a perfect combination.

Four o'clocks are one of my favorite plants. They have beautiful foliage, gorgeous flowers and a scent that perfumes the entire yard in the evening. They attract a lot of the night-flying moths, which should delight your kids. However, you need to be sure you want them where you plant them because they are almost impossible to move. Their roots get very large very quickly. After just a couple of years, the large fleshy potato-type root can be the size of a large yam. After a few years, the roots can be about the size of a child's head. Also, four o'clocks reseed prolifically. I used to pull up those seedlings. Then, one year I didn't get around to pulling them up and they grew. Hundreds of them. What did I learn from this? That the larger ones will shade out the smaller ones and most of those seedlings will die due to the competition for light and moisture. So, nowadays, I only pull up the ones that come up where they cannot be allowed to establish a toehold....like in the veggie garden.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Googled Photo of Lablab purpurea

Gracie
I have been afraid of planting Trumpet Vine due to a strong warning I got from a friend several years ago. She told me "NEVER EVER plant one in your yard"! I think they are so pretty but I have been afraid since the story she told me about them taking over one entire section of her yard even while trying to keep them in control. And how long it took them to get them back out of their yard.
I know down at the lake they are naturalized and they grow to the tops of trees and take up huge sections of ground.

Now I am sure that some of them are perhaps less vigorous than others but is there another type of vine which might work well for you there? Does the area get any sunshine?
I am just getting into planting more vines around my place. This year I am trying a variety of vines from seeds and also picked up a clematis which I planted about a week or so ago.

There are some vines which grow so vigorously in one season they will cover a good sized area in one season. But they are annuals and you would need to replant each spring.

Perhaps someone knows of some good vines or if Trumpet Vine is always so invasive. It would be pretty I know if it wouldn't deal you misery later on.

Scott
I have planted Cardinal vine only one time..it was last season. It is a heat loving vine and didn't start to grow until very late in the season due to all the rain, and cool temps we had last spring. But it is a nice vine. So is Cypress Vine. Both are from the same family of Impomoea I believe.

Four o'clocks are an old garden flower. Everyone used to have them. My mother always had them when I was a kid. They make a fairly pretty plant and bloom in the evening. My sister still has a large patch of them each year. They are very easy to grow from seed.

I don't know anything at all about Scarlet Runner Bean.

They should all do well if they get enough sun. I believe all of those are sun lovers. I know for sure that the Cardninal vine is.

I have planted Cardinal Vine, Moonflower vine, Black eyed Susan vine, Morning Glory and Sweet Pea vine all this year. They are just seedlings now but should take off when the weather gets more sunny and warmer.

Good luck with them all. Good warm weather and lots of sunshine and well drained soil is perhaps about all it will take. They should be easy to grow.

G.M.

I haven't grown Scarlett Runner Bean, but I have grown the pink one, Painted Lady I believe it's called. Let me know how your SRB does. I may try it next year.

I grow lots of morning glories, including some Japanese cultivars. My fav of the morning glories is 'Chocolate'. The flowers are huge on it, and it is just nothing short of beautiful. I save the seeds for it every year and plant them.

I also have a jasmine x stephanense which is beautiful, too. Clusters of pink flowers. I had to order it, though.

Also, I grow passion vines, both 'Lavendar Lady' and Blue Crown. They bloomed fiercely last year, and the hummers just loved em. They are very vigorous plants, too, but if you get the cultivars they are less excited about taking over! LOL!

Mexican Flame Vine is another gorgeous vine, and is supposedly root hardy to zone 7. We'll see, since I planted one last year.

Most all of these require sun. Clematis can take some shade, but I haven't found one that will bloom all summer yet. Anyone know of one?

Oh, my other vines are Aristolochias - tomentosa and macrophylla, or pipevines. While they aren't particularly grown for their flowers (shaped like meerschaum pipes), they are an old garden favorite for shading porches. I grow them cuz they are host plants for the beautiful Pipevine Swallowtails. The caterpillars range in color from bright orange to black with red markings. I may have an extra macrophylla in a pot if anyone would like it. You won't find them in any nursery in Oklahoma. I got mine from online nurseries and friends.

Susan

Oh My I am confused now. But I appreciate all of your advice. The Lavendar Lady and Blue Crown sound really pretty. I love four o'clocks also- I have fond memories of them in our garden in Colorado.

Gracie
If you want some vines to go with the photinias it may be just fine to plant the trumpet vine. It might not grow all over the place like some varieties do. And perhaps you have a place which it wouldn't matter if it did? We haven't been able to see your area you are wanting to plant in.
Don't worry too much about what we tell you okay? Go with what you WANT to try. That is how you learn anyway...trial and error.

If you want a vine but don't want to have to worry about it getting too large and IF you get some sun in the area why not just try one of the many varieties of Clemtis? Some are more adaptable to varying sun requirements and might just be a simple solution for you.

I can FEEL how confusing this all must be for you and really there is no exact science to this planting business. For most of my life if I liked it I bought it and put it in the ground and most times it worked out well. So just go with what you really want and don't let it overwhelm you. That really takes the fun out of growing things.

Please let us know what you decide to do okay? I am most interested to know how you come out.
If you plant Trumpet Vine and do well with it I just may get one myself I have thought about it many times.

Good luck...and keep it FUN...okay?
G.M.

Thank you, GM for your comforting advice!:) You are right about trial and error! We did take pics,but DH is out of town this week and he is the one who can help me post them. I am getting excited about adding some new diimension to the fence. Our front yard is looking so pretty right now, I will send pics of it as well. My yellow and purple petunias look so bright and perky.I also have a few pretty red tulips blooming. I hate that we have to loose them in our hot summer months!

I grew an apricot flowering trumpet vine from seed a lady gave me. Planted it about 3 years ago. Does anyone know how long it takes them to bloom from seed?

Susan

I'm with GM, Gracie. If you like it, you should plant it. Just keep it cut back. I have more trouble with my autumn clematis than with trumpet vine, and the hummingbirds really like it. I was just sure there was a tamer variety that had been recommended in recent years, but I'm not finding it, so maybe I was thinking of something else.

Cross vine. That's what I was trying to think of. Isn't this an alternative to trumpet vine that is less invasive?

Cardinal vine is beautiful but I get impatient every year waiting for the blooms. Seems like it was September last year.

American Cross Vine is a lovely native that is much less invasive than trumpet creeper, and the hummingbirds love it.

I grew it in Texas in mostly shade, and grow it here in full sun. It is gorgeous.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: American Crossvine