I have been pulling up shoots from the lawn diligently for three tears. My neighbor mows for me and also cuts down the foliage in two problem areas. The trumpet vine comes back unless I dig down to the root and destroy it. So far I have used fire, boiling water, rock salt and Round-Up. It was obviously planted years ago and its foothold is so well established that it is way beyond chickens. The root system has grown under the house and I'm not seeing a good outcome.

janmoon, Chickens are not going to help my problem w/ DEVIL VINE!!! When I redid the area w/ stone, that had NO light, I had to amend the soil, lotta clay, there were so many roots so deep heading straight to my pool. At least 2-3' I had to dig to get them. Then spray w/ 1 of the sprays I mention. I also had to dig up 2 more vines in that area that grew back. I used Bayer brush killer, Round up, & Speedway someone mentioned on this site. What I dug up 4 yrs ago grew back. Couldn't garden because of surgery. My pool area looked like I was digging graves!!! The weed cloth I used was so thick/ commercial, it felt like thick plastic basket weave. My husband got it from work, can't buy it that thick any where. No light was getting through that. I now have 2 more I am going to dig up this fall-grew back & flowered this yr. Not being able to garden for a few yrs was very bad!!! If you go back & read some of the post's you will read how 1 person could not figure out how the vine went from 1 side of her pool to grow on the other side of her pool!!! That's how deep they can go. Went right under it. No light there. Another it grew under the siding on the house, started popping nails out of the siding, had to remove the siding to remove the vine. This vine should be outlawed, or at least come w/ a warning. Karen

I'm almost to the end of 'trumpet season' and I don't think I had more than about 8 suckers come up the whole spring/summer. Which obviously means the thing isn't dead yet - but each year I get less and less. In my first year of battle, I would have had that many suckers per day and have as many as 30-50 if I skipped a few days and we had lots of rain.

At this point, whenever I see a sucker I'm stuffing the thing into a bag that has roundup and a soaked tissue in it, making sure to stuff the sucker into the tissue.

I guess as far as the general expectation goes, the roundup is not 'killing the trumpet vine', but it certainly destroys the visible leaves of the sucker, and since there are no other parts of the plant on the surface at this point I am slowly starving the thing by preventing photosynthesis from occurring. Chickens probably would have accomplished the same goals faster, but chickens aren't an option on my property.

I expect the battle to continue for another year or 2 at this point. Which would make it a 4-5 year battle by the time it's all said and done.

The trick really is consistency and not allowing it to have any thriving areas. You will definitely never kill it if you're trying to let some areas keep living and only killing some. Or if you accidently leave some suckers alive for long periods of time and they're allowed to thrive and re-feed the whole root system. Every single sucker needs to be killed before they can do much of anything. I used to get down on my hands and knees looking through my grass for suckers, just so I could get every single one. Now that there are only a few it's much easier to keep up with it and not miss any.

Hi nkonzelman, Yes I read that post & I am going to try it. I have had better luck w/ Bayer brush killer than Roundup. So now that the season is almost over after I dig up the new 1's I'm going to do that to. The good news (almost afraid to write it w/ murphy's law) is that were I re-did my area w/ the stone /pool area, there were so many roots, so deep that after I dug out what I could, they were in spots growing under the cement I sprayed them w/ the Bayer & no new shoots in that whole area. Gives me hope that Bayer brush killer kills them. Now I am going to try that on the other side of the fence were my perennials are getting choked out by them, dig/ cut/ baggy w/ Bayer brush killer.

It is not a good idea to be using sprays on trumpet vine as that signals the plant that it's dying and it works vigorously not to die

Round Up On trumpet vine should only be used on the freshly cut trunk and then never used again

As I have said Mother Nature has no plants that will live without sunlight

Any sucker of any height is providing the roots with sunlight

I was thinking about planting a trumpet vine until I read through this thread.

Is it possible to care for this vine if I planted it in a bed that is bordered on all sides by the house foundation, concrete driveway, and concrete sidewalk?

I was hopeful that I could grow it up a wall.

We are in our third year of waging war on the trumpet vine. It's still winning, but I see an occasional breakthrough. My daughter dug 21/2 feet down across the bed that runs along the screened porch. About 20 ft. in length. She exposed the root, removed as much as she could, poisoned the parts that broke off, and refilled with clean soil. And that's only about an eighth of it. We didn't want to resort to poison but boiling water, a blowtorch and just plain digging didn't completely eradicate it. It continues to pop up in random places all over the lawn. Once more can I appeal to people to not plant trumpet vine? There are so many shrubs out there that are non-invasive. Now I'm terrified of having it show up at the neighbors' house.

Happy summer!

jc_7a_middleTN, I wouldn't try it. Reports of the vine spreading under things like sidewalks and driveway (even under an in-ground pool!) lead me to believe that nothing will confine it. It lulls you into thinking you've got it in hand, for the first 3 or 4 years, then watch out! Part of mine reached over to my neighbor's garage and started to work its way under the roof. Another part got under my siding.

They are beautiful but way way too aggressive.

Amen. I'm not sure how deep the roots go but I know there are several plants that will go through concrete 6 inches thick. I have read that stainless steel from the surface down 3 feet will stop all roots.

There is another herbicide that much stronger than Weed Free Zone and that is Speed Zone. This is also another dangerous 2,4-D, 2-ethylhexyl ester spray that is equally dangerous to mankind and any broad leaf plant that spray drift reaches.

Personally I would not plant this plant again.

Hi jc_7a_Middle,

I Would not try it. It has grown underneath cement heading towards my pool. Last yr. working in my garden I pulled out roots 2'-3' deep underground heading towards my pool on a project I was working on. I sprayed the whole area w/ Bayer Brush Killer. I haven't seen anything new in that area yet. On the other side I have 2 vines that came back. Going to cut and kill them this yr. I would never plant them again. They pop up everywhere and are very hard to get rid of.

For whatever it's worth the Oregon extension service says that there is no chemical that will kill trumpet vine. They also said that only a lack of photosynthesis will kill this plant.

This discussion has been both disheartening and encouraging and from reading it I have realized that I must be as aggressive as the trumpet vine so I attached logging chains to three holly shrubs (that weigh several hundred pounds each) and to the hitch on my truck and pulled them out because the vine roots were mixed in to the point that was the only option. I have also dug up parts of my beautiful garden and St. Augustine lawn. Then, this week, a Master Gardener friend came over and pointed out that I may be making it worse by digging up roots and to wait until the fall and THEN spray the trumpet vine suckers with Roundup because in the autumn the vine will draw the herbicide into the roots and kill them but if Roundup is used while the suckers are still growing it will only kill the top part. Dunno, but I will try.

Another thing, some of you have said that the roots cannot live without sunlight. While that is true - ultimately - the real question is how many years can the roots live without sunlight?

Although there are some misinformed people out there giving bad advice there is ONLY one way to not have trumpet vine and that is no photosynthesis. That is most easily done with chickens. Chickens will kill the trumpet vine in one year. If that is not an option then you have to remove the suckers daily and you should be prepared to do that for probably 3 years. Roundup WILL NOT kill trumpet vine no matter when you apply it with the exception of close to where you applied it. Sorry for the bad news but that is the reality for killing trumpet vine.

@bobvanhalder4b perhaps you are right about the Roundup. I simply don't know. I am attacking it every way I can because chickens aren't an option for me :)

Anyone that has doubts about how to get rid of trumpet vine can check with any state agricultural extension service. Master gardeners are sometimes uninformed. Not only am I a master gardener but I also have had the unpleasant experience of getting rid of a very nice trumpet vine…without chickens.

I fought the vine from h*** daily for many years and never won. We moved (not because of that, although it’s nice to not see those evil shoots anywhere now). It popped up all over our acre+ lot — in every single bed, in the lawn, near every fence, tried to grow up downspouts/brick, etc. It’s by far the worst garden issue I’ve ever dealt with. It stressed me out so bad.

I’ve seen it taking over trees and even growing to the tops of telephone poles. Horribly invasive here.

Good luck to anyone dealing with it.

Jinx, in the Midwest, trumpet vine is a native plant. Our ruby-throat hummingbirds are quite fond of it. So it belongs in natural areas, where competition from other natives may limit its spread (but not its height). Definitely not in yards or otherwise cultivated areas though.

Herbicides can kill trumpet vine.....as long as you use the correct one and apply it in the most effective manner. And as often as necessary. As a practicing certified horticulturist, I can't think if any kind of plant that cannot be controlled by some sort of herbicide :-) But that is probably not the most effective approach with trumpet vine, just as it it is not for removing English ivy, Himalayan blackberries, Japanese knotweed and other highly aggressive spreaders.

Early in my gardening career I too planted a trumpet vine, primarily for my hummingbirds. It wasn't long before I determined the vine was just too messy as well as too aggressive and I chopped it down and dug out as much of the root system as possible. Of course that was not the end of the story......root shoots continued to pop all over the general vicinity and it took the better part of 5 years to remove all signs. I just cut the shoots back as soon as I saw any above ground growth. Eventually the lack of photosynthesis will starve the plant out. Not a fast process but doable.

btw, the species epithet radicans means "with stems that take root"!

After reading this last round of comments I went outside and dug up some more roots. Jesus. I suspect the dwarf Japanese maple is going to have to go like the holly shrubs.

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) You should modify your comment as you CAN NOT kill trumpet vine with a herbicide. There are some herbicides that will kill Japanese knotweed...if you can afford it.

Don't be silly!! There is NOT a plant on this planet that cannot be killed with herbicide! It may take multiple applications and you need to use the right product but it can be done. There is nothing magical about a trumpet vine that makes it resistant to herbicides.........if you can kill a wisteria, which has the same sort of aggressive, spreading root shoot behavior, with herbicide then you can kill a trumpet vine as well. I didn't say it was easy or necessarily any faster but it can be done.

If you know of any herbicide that can kill trumpet vine you should name it as there is none known today. WSU extension service would also like to know.

Try looking here: https://ask.extension.org/home/about. Or here: https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/how-to-control-trumpet-vine/. Or here: https://ag.purdue.edu/btny/ppdl/Pages/POTW_old/4-17-06.html

These are ALL extension service websites/publications.

Round Up kills trumpet vine. I killed it in my yard. On my fence about 4 years ago. Of course I have more in a different parts of the yard, because of the birds.

First step: Spray leaves. 2nd step: after 48 hours, cut all but two or three vines to the ground. Cut those back to about 12 inches. Strip leaves and stick the cut end down into the undiluted container of Round Up. Brace so it cannot fall over and keep pets away. After 48 hours. remove stems from bottle. after about a week or so, cut to ground level and monitor for new growth. If none, yeah! If you see new growth, dig until you see the root and split root open in several places, Drench with undiluted RoundUp only on the root.

The above is only if you let it go. If you can get them before they get big, they pull up easy when little, no RoundUp needed.

Glyphosate can work but triclopyr or a combo of triclopyr and 2, 4-D will be much more effective. They are intended for woody, brushy plant material.

When I removed the trumpet vine, I was using the regular Round Up concentrate. I have been using this Round Up to kill trash trees. Cut tree down to a stump and paint the concentrate on the fresh cut stump. No spraying required. I'm sure it would work much faster on the vines than regular Round Up.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Roundup-32-oz-Concentrate-Poison-Ivy-Plus-Tough-Brush-Killer-5002310/100355710

The county extension office told me there was no magic solution to the trumpet vine problem but Round Up can help. Well, after spending hours digging uproots are moving shrubs (and this weekend a dwarf Japanese maple) I certainly wasn't expecting a magical solution ...

What I am in the process of doing is removing all vegetation and top soil after dividing the root infested area into several sections and going at it section by section.

DEVIL PLANT - My mother got one of these vines from her neighbor and planted it in her garden and at first thought it was lovely and now it’s everywhere. Its taken over the garden, grass and flower beds. it’s coming through the patio stones and driveway. It’s a terribly invasive plant and should be banned.

LOL!! As a native plant, it is not an invasive species by definition!! But it can be an aggressive spreader and difficult to get rid of once established. And no, it should NOT be banned (not that anyone can ban a native species) but one should educate one's self on any plant's characteristics before purchasing and planting. Caveat emptor!!

It is beautiful in the wild. It is fine in a big yard, if you can isolate it, keep after the sprout in beds, and mow around it to keep the roots sprouts in control. It is NOT good for a small yard unless you are extra careful.

Last fall I attached a logging chain to my pickup and ripped three holly shrubs from the ground along with nandina and a dwarf Japanese maple just so I could dig and spray the roots with Southern Ag CROSSBOW32 Weed & Brush Killer, 32oz-1 Quart Crossbow Specialty Herbicide 2 4 D & Triclopyr Weed & Brush Herbicide. How effective was all my digging and spraying? It is too early to tell but I suspect the work isn't over yet.

To get rid of it you have to move. That worked for us.

Heavens to don't use Round Up! Move away.

Round Up kills.....people.

Natives can be invasive, too. But in recent years some folks have started to use the word solely as short hand for “invasive exotic.” Not all invasive plants are exotic (I.e., non-native). And not all exotic plants are invasive.

Update: I have beat Trump Vine using Southern Ag CROSSBOW32 Weed & Brush Killer, 32oz-1 Quart Crossbow Specialty Herbicide 2 4 D & Triclopyr Weed & Brush Herbicide. It took some doing but it is effective. There is no need for despair or to move to another house :)

There is a very well defined concept of what exactly an "invasive species" is and it is uniformly accepted by the USDA, the Federal government, ISAC, IUCN and various other foreign associations. It is a species that is non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

That does give consideration to some native plants potentially being invasive when grown out of their native context but only if they fit the second part of the equation - the "causing of economic or environmental harm". Ya gotta have both factors involved! And trumpet vine does not fit those characteristics. While it is a PITA and a very aggressive and persistent spreader (as are a number of other common garden plants that are also not considered "invasive"), trumpet vine does not cause economic or environmental harm and is therefore not considered to be an invasive species.

"Economic or environmental harm" would be plants that take over native habitats, overwhelming and outcompeting the indigenous species, or that adversely impact agriculture, resulting in an economic cost to control.

Well.... it's still a pain.🙄😬

My neighbor’s trumpet vine has invaded. spread its nasty roots all through my garden bed. I dug down where i could see it came under the fence - the root is 2.5 inches diameter. I sliced it and started burning the root. To no avail. Thanks for the tips here. It seems unless I can get him to diligently take out his plant I am doomed.

never ever plant this!!!!!!!!!!

Embrace it.

We inherited a slew of trumpet vine plants growing on the 6 acres along with wild honeysuckle bushes. I am now going to treat the trumpet vine the same way I did with the honeysuckle. As soon as you cut it if a big stump, I have both, drill and pour round up in immediately. Smaller pieces need to be coated with the round up. We shall see, hopefully this works. My daughter has to deal with her neighbors wisteria plant invading her yard.

Rather than using Roundup (which has mixed results at best) you might want to paint the following herbicide on the stump instead. No need for drilling. Works with wisteria as well: Southern Ag CROSSBOW32 Weed & Brush Killer, 32oz-1 Quart Crossbow Specialty Herbicide 2 4 D & Triclopyr Weed & Brush Herbicide.

Just move away.

Can you believe that they have this vine for sale????😨😱

There should be a skull and crossbones on the pot! We had to move to be rid of it.

we managed tto kill ours off by using sidewalk. salt after cudding it below the ground and boiling hhot water... make a bonfire n get a few cheap tea kettles. .. it took 2 yrs but persistance will kill it off

My mother had this plant at her home and the suckers popped up everywhere and even came up through a freshly paved driveway. A few neighbors had them popping up in the lawns all over the place. The only way we got rid of the largest plant that had become a 6 foot high tree was to cut it down and drill holes through the trunk to create a bowl and we poured the salt that is used for snow and ice and let it soak in the truck and it slowly killed it. It's a horrible invasive plant that she not be sold at garden centres.