Q: I have a yellow trumpet vine that I would like to move. It is about 10 to 14 years old. Is it possible to move it or should I leave it? It grows really well but I would like to move it away from the house.
Hardiness Zone: 8a
Ruth from Springfield, OR
A: Ruth,
Trumpet vines are pretty resilient. Many people are looking for ways to stop them from growing and spreading, so don't worry too much about transplanting it. If for some reason it doest transplant well, you're likely to see plenty of new suckers growing up in the spot it used to inhabit. I would suggest doing it in the early spring before too much growth occurs. Cut it down to a manageable size for transplanting. Don't cut it all the way down, however, as it's better to leave a few feet of the leafy top-growth. When you dig out the root ball, make it large and try to keep as much of the dirt attached to the roots as possible. Baby your vine this season as it works to re-establish itself.
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Here's some more info. When I transplanted mine, I just dug enough of the root system and planted it right in the ground. I live in WI so I cut mine back every fall to about 2-3 inches. For a few years, I bought 4 metal trellises, put them in a square around the trumpet vine, and let the vines grow up the trellises. Since trumpet vines grow lots of new shoots all over, I also used the new ones to make it reallly full looking. As the vine grows, just train it to grow up, around, back down, all over!
I've moved my orange trumpet vine and it does just fine. Like any trumpet vine, it takes 3 years to grow. First year just leaves and vines, 2nd year a few flowers bloom, 2rd year grows tall and produces lots of blooms.
Try rooting two or three cuttings first as insurance in case it doesn't survive the move. It may not be completely dormant, especially this near spring, so waiting until winter might be a good idea. Prune it back to about three-four feet of stems so that the transplanted rootsystem won't have more foliage than it can support. Give it plenty of time to recover - it will likely drop leaves until it settles in.
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