Trumpet Vines

[nes]

(I know, I`m full of great ideas).

[url]https://ontariotrees.com/main/species.php?id=2085[/url]

I`m having some trouble finding information on different varieties of trumpet vines. They are native to SW Ontario but it looks like our native variety (which is quite rare) will only grow in Niagara. I`m not worried about it being invasive but I am a little concerned when I looked up posts here it looks like it takes YEARS to grow & flower?

Has anyone had luck with Trumpet Vines?

What sort of varieties are available to grow in 5A?

It`s to cover the back of the house so pretty much full sun all day long. (maybe 90% sun )

[Kisal]

What zone are you in? It looks like it's hardy to USDA zone 4b.

It isn't rare around where I live. I just ran out back and snapped a couple of pictures of one of mine. (Please forgive my ineptitude with a camera. )

[img]https://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/Kisal_photos/100_0298.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh27/Kisal_photos/100_0299.jpg[/img]

The bees and hummingbirds just love the trumpet vine. I sure wouldn't allow it to grow on my house, though. I think it could cause major damage to the structure. One of mine sent out an underground runner and started to climb my house, and it was growing under the siding. :p

[nes]

5A.

I didn't really think of it getting into the siding on the house :S. Most of the house is cedar but this is on the porch which is actually vinyl, would there still be a problem?

They sure are beautiful!

I'm not worried about the bees We have two honey suckles so they are pretty common around here. As long as you don't swat them or step on them they really don't bother anyone.

[Kisal]

I have wood shingles on my house, and the stems grew right underneath, embedding themselves into the sheathing under the shingles. I wasn't able to pull them out, so I hired a couple of guys, who removed the shingles and cut the stems to kill the parts climbing the side of my house. They came back a couple weeks later and pulled the dead vines out off, put new shingles on, and painted that side of the house. It was expensive and a mess. I love my trumpet vines, but I make a point of keeping them well away from my house now. I learned my lesson!

[rainbowgardener]

AGREE with Kisal! I have trumpet creeper (which is native where I am) that I planted against one of my house downspouts. This was about six years ago. The little plant was maybe a foot high and very innocent looking. We have now cut it back (drastically!) twice. Last year before we cut it back it was climbing over the third story roof. It gets under the shingles, clogs the gutters... It was swallowing our house whole. We cut it back last fall and it is now back up to gutter level. The thing (reminds me of the one from little shop of horrors!) has now has a trunk about 4 inches in diameter and I'm sure that it is too late to have any way to get rid of it.

When it blooms, it is beautiful and the hummingbirds adore it, but every time we have to cut it back, it doesn't bloom the following year. So with the fact that it takes a couple years to start blooming (this one bloomed in its third year), that means it's only bloomed about half the time.

DO NOT PLANT IT NEAR YOUR HOUSE!!

[nes]

Ok so along the fence line it is!!

Can you guys suggest a good vine for the back of the house?

I`ve got sunflowers covering it right now, and I LOVE them! but they just don`t get tall enough .

[Kisal]

My personal position is that it isn't good idea to grow a vine directly on a house. It can present major problems when you have to perform maintenance on the structure of the building, whether it be painting or just washing the windows.

I have seen trellises that were hinged to supports set in the ground. The trellises attached to the walls of the building by means of a hook-and-eye type system, and could be unhooked and laid flat on the ground to expose the building wall for maintenance. In fact, I grew climbing roses on that type of trellis outside my bedroom window at one house I owned.

My present home has a clematis vine that grows up between two of the porch pillars. I string a twine trellis for it each spring. It hasn't done any damage to the wood, but I have a feeling that you want the "vine-covered cottage" effect. I don't think clematis will grow rampantly enough in your zone to give you that look, exactly. I could be wrong, though.

[nes]

It's not so much the vine-covered look, as the 'the house is 160 years old and really needs a paint job!!!'. It's going to be a while still until we get to dealing with that (working on the inside first!) and it's really really ugly!!

I had thought of trellising them and being able to pull that down... hmmmm... It might work because the sides of the porch don't get allot of sun at all, but if the vines make it all the way back to the house they are going to get at least partial sun & they will cause a problem there.

I'll keep thinking!!