I would simply plant them individually in small pots and place them in the shade. Giving them a little liquid root stimulator (Green Light makes one) would give them a boost also. When they have formed good roots and leafing out nicely then go ahead and plant them where you want them.

Also cut any stems back by about 1/3 and remove 2/3 of the leaves. Cut the remaining leaves in half. This prevents so much water lose through evaporation from the leaves until the small feeder roots regenerate to take up water.

Happy gardening!

I planted mine two years ago and have never gotten flowers. How long do they take?

I hear they'll survive a nuclear blast turn around and eat the house. This is a very,very,very aggressive native vine. I saw one at a house I was buying that took down a fence and was invading the neighbor's yards on both sides. It's a lovely,drought tolerant,hummingbird attracting vine but I'd keep it containered myself. A red crossvine(also native) looks much like the native trupet vine without the aggression. It can also cause a rash in some people. PJ

Here is a link that might be useful: Trumpet Vine

I have one and I love it. It does spread like crazy.

Honestly just stick it int he ground and give it a year or two and you will have more trumpet vine blooms than you can imagine.

I love it for Hummies.

I agree with Roxy. I have one, too, and it is eating my house. It has root in a crack in my back patio and up it went to the roof of our two-story home.

I think it was awesome in many respects. It never needs water even in areas that are in full drought and do not supplement with water. I could not believe this thing. I had a black thumb back then, and even I didn't kill this thing. It makes a great, very quick screen if you want to grow it for covering an ugly fence or what have you.

I don't know what you mean, though, that you asked for tips and never got your question answered as that seems like exactly what you were given.... tons of tips... LOL... although my big tip is that this plant doesn't need tips to grow. I dare you to try to kill it after planting it directly in the ground where you want it. Honestly, plant it, water occasionally or not, and this thing will grow and grow well.

~Angela

BY FAR the most invasive plant I have ever had to deal with! It is all over my yard and in every flower bed, originating from a neighbor's planting. I hate it and I have tried everything to kill it off. If you try to pull the seedlings out, the stem simply breaks off leaving the root to form 3 other vines. I would NEVER plant this monster.

Give them back.
And never speak to the person that gave them to you again.
If you do plant them, like everyone else said, just stick them in and water. Then go to the nearest store and buy as many bottles of vine killer as they have and ask them to order you more. This vine started pulling the SIDE off of our rental property, it pulled cypress shiplathe off the side of a house that is over 100 years old. Hurricanes couldn't pull the siding off!! We used a chain saw to cut it back, sprayed 4 bottles of full strength, not diluted, vine killer on it, 2 weeks later it had almost covered the back of the house again.
But go ahead and plant it. Just don't tell the neighbors!!!
It ain't native to here.
Tally HO!

well, i managed to kill them

i think it was the triple-digit heat we had last week, but they didn't survive - from everyone's comments on this thread and others, i had just about decided against it anyway

~ amy

Amy, that's probably a wise choice. The red trumpet vine and running bamboo are just about impossible to eliminate once they get a good start.

My son battles bamboo constantly at the house he purchased. After cutting it to the ground and spraying with weed killer a week later it literally has shot up to 6 feet tall as well as spreading even more. He has given up on getting it out, but has to keep it out of the drive way and from eating the house.

The pink trumpt vine, however, is very mannerly. It is a favorite of mine. It dies to the ground with the first freeze so keep that in mind when placing it. And there's the chore of having to cut and discard the long arching limbs, but I don't find that hard to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pink trumpet vine

Wow, Amy. I feel bad now. I honestly would have thought it would take no matter what you did. I'm glad you're reconsidering whether to have this plant or not now, but if you want to give it another shot, maybe I could give you a starter once it cools off some more. Let me know...

~Angela

Now you can plant some pretty, nice, wonderful vines, that will attract butterflies and not cause your neighbors to chase you down with flaming torches and pickaxes. Isn't that what they were always waving about in those old monster movies?
Tally HO!

beachplant: Not the old monster movies, but definitely in the lynch mob scene in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The beast (highly misinterprested movie) was the trumpet vine that had taken over the village like kudzu takes over an old civil war era cemetery in southern Georiga. But I think my town has an ordinance against demonstrating with torches and pickaxes -- we have to demonstrate with sophistication.

angela: oh, well. Wasn't meant to be.

~ Amy