Trumpet vine is a nutrient sucker, which drains your other plants in the long run. Thus, we will discuss the effective ways on how to get rid of trumpet vine!
Trumpet vine is also known as campsis radicans which is a creeper and grows quickly. This is an aggressive climber that will invade your garden in no time, killing your flowers and other preferred plants.
Now, that does not sound pleasing, is it?
In the succeeding sections below, we will list down the best ways to how to get rid of trumpet vine in your yard, as well as tips on how to keep trumpet vine from spreading.
How To Get Rid Of Trumpet Vine Naturally?
Here are 4 ways to getting rid of trumpet vine organically:
1. Digging Up The Roots
This is the conventional way of getting rid of the vine, but this one takes a lot of effort and only works if there aren’t any other plants in the area.
Digging up the entire area and extending about 3 meters on all sides will help you locate the large and smaller roots of this plant. You also need to rake the soil a few more times (twice a week) before you can be assured that the roots are all dead.
2. Applying Boiling Water
Can I get rid of trumpet vine using boiling water?
Yes, you do have a chance of killing the plant using freshly boiled water. First, you need to cut the vines at ground level and proceed to pour boiling water to its roots. It is advisable to do it every day to prevent any chance of the roots from regenerating.
While this is less complicated, this too requires several applications to be effective. This is advisable if you have only a small area of soil to focus on.
If you rather have a huge garden invaded by trumpet vines, then you need to resort to other measures. You do not want to waste a lot of water just for this task alone.
3. Applying Rock Salt To The Area Around The Roots
If there are other plants in close proximity to the trumpet vine, then using herbicide is not ideal. You need to use something that minimizes damage to the other plants.
Rock salt is an excellent way to do just that. Dissolve a cup of rock salt in a bucket and add lukewarm water (enough to dissolve the salt). Next, pour the mixture to the surrounding of the vine’s roots; make sure you pour it as close to the base as possible.
This is quite effective and does not require a lot of effort as you only need to re-apply once a week. However, once the process is complete it might be difficult to grow other plants in that specific area. So, soil cultivation is necessary afterwards.
4. Covering The Area With Cardboards
Aside from being a natural nutrient sucker, the main reason why trumpet vine is disliked by many gardeners is because it hampers the sun from reaching the other plants. And plants need sunlight to survive.
Following this theory, you can also do the same to the trumpet vine— cutting its source of sunlight.
How?
If you are curious as to how to get rid of trumpet vine without using any chemicals, then you need cardboards, a lot of them.
Cut the vines at ground level and layer the cardboards on top of the specific area surrounding the vine’s roots. You may put heavier mulch like sawdust and wood chips on top as well to put a little bit of weight.
Some would even put some binds to secure the cover. Moreover, a plastic sheeting is also great to secure the cardboards and other mulch during windy days.
Wait for 2-3 months and check if new plants have grown in the area. If none, wait another 2 months just to be sure.
Killing trumpet vines naturally is easy but needs effort and patience. However, you may also use herbicide to speed up the process.
While this method may kill the other plants nearby, you can always choose the perfect timing and resort to the most suitable way to get rid of the trumpet vine for good.
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